Friends With Benefits
by LucindaRemyMalfoy
Summary: Hermione and Draco are best friends who've come up with a rather interesting arrangement that works for them - but what happens when fathers get involved, weddings get crashed, and true feelings are revealed? Stick around to find out. And grab your gloves ladies and gentlemen, because it's about to get messy! AU/AH
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I know that I'm supposed to be working on _WWMTB_ buuut this idea came to me, and I had to run with it, because it literally wouldn't leave me alone. It just demanded to be written, and I hope you all like it. **

**Show some love and leave a review and let me know if you guys like the idea (: **

**Just to be clear, Draco and Hermione are human (no magic in this story...well not in the wizarding way anyway), and they are indeed best friends - and I'm not trying to make it too OOC (but keep in mind, they _don't _have magic, so everything HP related doesn't really apply to my story, and they're in a completely different world, so this Draco's going to be more playful, for obvious reasons) That being said, though, Draco's still an ass, Hermione's still a book worm, his parents still kind of suck, Ginny's still awesome...so sit back and enjoy the ride lovelies. (And I, of course, still hate Ron.) **

**(HPOV and DPOV, because I like to switch up who we know things about).**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

**HPOV**

"Oh god, Malfoy!"

"_Fuck, _Granger." he panted, his pace relentless.

My nails scraped down Malfoy's back and he groaned, his pace faltering slightly as he felt my walls start to flutter around him.

"Are you close?"

I simply nodded, unable to form a coherent thought, though this couldn't possibly surprise him - it happened often enough when we fucked.

A few powerful thrusts later and I was coming undone underneath him, and he followed not long after.

He immediately rolled off me and we both stared up at the ceiling, catching our breath.

I was the first to break the silence, "It's like you get better and better every time, Malfoy. Have you been practicing with someone else?"

He chuckled and turned his head to look at me, "No, you seem to be the only friend I'm fucking into oblivion."

"Oh? Into oblivion? Are you really that confident in your abilities?" I asked with a smirk.

Malfoy wasn't phased at all, and said, "You tell me, Granger. You were the one screaming my name a few minutes ago."

At that I laughed and sat up, grabbing my tanktop from the floor, "Touche, Malfoy."

He watched me slip on my underwear next, and then push the blanket off myself as I stood.

"Should I order pizza?" I asked, pulling my cheer shorts on.

"Yeah," he said, sliding into a pair of sweatpants.

"Going commando now, are we?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

He just rolled his eyes, ignoring my comment, and asked, "So now that you've let off some steam, are you going to tell me what happened with Weasely?"

I groaned as we walked out of Malfoy's bedroom and into our kitchen, "He's so _infuriating_."

Malfoy chuckled, "I could've told you that earlier, in fact I'm pretty sure I did."

"You're not a very good best friend." I said, pouting.

He chuckled, "I would think I'm the best, best friend you could ask for. I fuck you senseless and buy you pizza afterwards."

I couldn't help but laugh and ask, "So you're buying?"

He nodded and picked up the phone, dialing the number he got off the post-it note on the fridge.

After he'd ordered our usual pizza, he joined me on the couch, pulling my legs onto his lap.

"So what happened?"

I groaned and stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out where to start.

"He accused me of having cheated on him back in high school."

"What?" asked Draco, clearly surprised.

"With you."

"_What_?"

I nodded, "Yeah, he said that we were hooking up."

"We're best friends." he said, rolling his eyes at Ron's stupidity.

"_I _know that, but apparently _he_ doesn't. Not that it matters now." I said, shaking my head.

He sighed, "He's an arse, Granger. You could do better."

"I am _doing _better." I said with a wink, my sexual innuendo clearly not lost on him.

He chuckled, "I couldn't agree more."

We'd both agreed to our interesting relationship a month ago. I'd broken up with Ron, and Malfoy had gotten a rather long and harsh lecture from his dad about the women traipsing in and out of our flat - because it always landed in the papers.

But Malfoy had certain - _ahem_ - needs, as did I, so the solution seemed like an easy one. We'd been best friends for years and we'd been living together in a flat in London for the past six months - so it was really just that simple.

We were best friends and we were hooking up. It wasn't complicated, it wasn't confusing, it wasn't anything but two friends being friends and fucking on the side - and so far it'd been working out perfectly.

"So has your dad said anything about...you know?" I trailed off uncomfortably.

He ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, but I told him to fuck off. I'm not moving out, Granger."

"I'm just causing stress between the two of you. Maybe you should -"

"Granger, shut up. You're my best friend. Simple as that."

And just like that, the discussion was over.

"I'm starving." I said, drawing out the 'A' to prove just how hungry I was.

Malfoy laughed and patted my calf, "It's been like fifteen minutes."

"Can you blame me? You really know how to wear a girl out, Malfoy."

"Keep stroking my ego like that and I'll end up fucking you on this couch before the pizza gets here."

"I can think of something I'd like to stroke." I said, a sassy smirk on my face.

"Granger," he said, his tone warning me that he wasn't kidding.

That was fine, I wasn't kidding either.

The whole best friends thing aside, Malfoy was attractive and my _god _he could fuck.

I sat up and straddled his waist in an instant, my hands tangling in his shaggy blonde hair.

He groaned, his hands finding my waist as I felt his 'Little Malfoy' start to make an appearance.

He slid his hands up and down my sides while he trailed hungry kisses down my neck.

I pulled his face up to mine, capturing his lips in a kiss.

* * *

**DPOV**

Granger was going to be the fucking death of me - but I'd definitely die happy, that was for sure.

I slid my hands under her shirt up to her breasts, toying with her nipples.

She groaned, arching into my touch, and I took the opportunity to kiss her neck again, nipping and licking her soft skin.

I moved back up to her lips, effortlessly sliding my tongue into her mouth. I realized that we didn't exactly have that much time before the pizza was going to get there, so I shifted Granger slightly.

She groaned, "Malfoy,"

"Hush, we need to hurry up."

She giggled, and nodded, doing three things at once. She pulled my sweatpants down enough so that my dick sprang free, she moved that little scrap of clothing she called shorts to the side, and she pushed me inside her.

She moaned, her nails digging into my shoulders as she began moving up and down on top of me. I groaned, tangling a hand in her hair and pulling her down to kiss me again.

"Oh god, Malfoy, _fuck_." she panted, tilting her head back.

I slid my hands up her back, pulling her closer so that I could tease her nipples.

She moaned again, louder this time, and I knew she was close.

In the past month I'd more than acquainted myself with her body.

I moved my hands to her hips, lifting her slightly so that I could pound into her.

She squeezed her eyes tightly and a few seconds later she came - _loudly _- and I followed her a few pumps later.

She sagged against my chest for a second before she moved off me and flopped back onto the couch.

It was never something we'd verbally agreed on, but we just didn't do the cuddling thing. We were friends. Point blank.

She adjusted her shorts and shirt while I adjusted my sweatpants, and then the door bell rang.

I ran a hand through my hair and answered it, handing the short blonde twenty pounds and then taking the pizza from her.

When I walked back into the living room Granger was flipping through the channels, apparently finding yet _another _boring _Lifetime_ movie to make me sit through.

I didn't really mind too much though, especially considering how hot she looked after being fucked. Her lips were full and pink, and her already crazy hair was even crazier - but somehow it suited her.

We'd both admitted that we thought the other was attractive, that had been obvious since we agreed to the friends with benefits thing, but that didn't mean a bloody thing.

Neither one of us wanted a relationship, and I was fucking grateful that she saw things the same way I did - that relationships were a waste of time, and fucking was a great way to relieve stress.

"I can't believe Ginny's getting married." she said after a few minutes.

I raised an eyebrow, "You can't seriously be surprised. Everyone knew that her and Potter were going to get married."

She sighed, "Yeah, I know. I just can't help but feel like it's so soon. I mean we're all only in our early twenties!"

I chuckled, "To each his own."

"You're going to the wedding, right? Because I don't think I could deal with having to see Ron there without you."

I shook my head, "I don't think that's a good idea Granger, especially not with Weasely thinking we fucked in high school."

"Malfoy, please. I'm literally begging you. I can't do this alone, but I can't _not _do it. Ginny's a really good friend."

"Granger,"

"Please," she said, moving to kneel in front of me, "I _need _you to go, Malfoy. You're my best friend. You can't just let me walk into that hell hole by myself."

I chuckled and pulled her up from her begging position, "How do you even know they'll want me there?"

"Oh please, you know Ginny loves you, and if Ginny loves you that means Harry will at least tolerate you being there." she said, rolling her eyes.

"If I do this you owe me, Granger."

"I am forever in your debt." she said sarcastically.

"Such a smart mouth."

She smirked, "Didn't hear you complaining about my smart mouth earlier."

"Touche, Granger."

She sighed, and her expression turned a bit more serious, "Thank you, though, seriously. I really couldn't do this without you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're lucky I like you."

She chuckled, "I just have the best, best friend in the world."

"Shut up and eat, Granger."

She rolled her eyes, but did what I said, picking up another piece of pizza and focusing back on the screen, that god-awful movie - whatever the fuck it was - holding her attention.

I shook my head, an amused smile on my face.

I definitely had an interesting best friend.

* * *

**Okay, that's the first chapter, hope you guys like. (: **

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated (: **


	2. Chapter 2

**Well here you guys have it, chapter two! Thank you so much to the guys who reviewed and said you liked it, and the people that favorited and followed it, you guys are awesome! **

**I got a PM today, and it really made my day. I love hearing that people enjoy my work, and want me to continue writing. It's like cookies, but better...okay, maybe not better than cookies, but pretty damn close. **

**Alright, enough of my weird rambling thoughts. **

**Enjoy, leave a review (or a cookie) (: **

* * *

**HPOV**

"I'm so glad you're coming, Mione. After I heard what happened with Ron I was scared you'd say no."

I sighed, tieing yet another ribbon around a wedding invitation, "You're one of my closest friends, Gin. I wouldn't miss your wedding because of your jackass brother."

She chuckled, "I'm glad. Luna said she was bringing Theo, and everyone's allowed to bring a plus one."

I nodded slowly, "I actually wanted to talk to you about that."

She raised an eyebrow, but just then Molly walked in with a plate of cookies.

"How are the invitations coming?" she asked, setting the plate between the two of us - which was quite a feat considering the amount of paper and ribbon that covered the table.

"Well they're taking forever." said Ginny, a frown on her face.

She chuckled, "Told you to have them done professionally."

"You and dad are paying for almost everything, I'm trying to save you money."

I rolled my eyes, having heard this argument plenty of times since Harry and Ginny had first announced their engagement two months ago.

They were constantly arguing about the money - which didn't seem to be too much of a problem for Molly and Arthur - but Ginny had been trying to do things without spending so much.

So that meant sitting here and doing all these invitations by hand.

"And we told you that you didn't have to do that dear." said Molly, patting Ginny's hand. "What am I going to do with her?" she asked me with a smile.

I just laughed, tieing another bow around an invitation.

"Oh, so what were you saying about your plus one?" asked Ginny.

They both looked at me expectantly, and even though I would have rather brought it up with Ginny alone, I guess I didn't really have a choice.

"I was thinking about bringing Malfoy."

Molly raised an eyebrow, but Ginny just shrugged, "I figured you would. It was about time the two of you started dating. I even told -"

"Wait what? You think Malfoy and I - um, no Gin. That's definitely not happening. We're still just friends."

"Are you kidding me? The sexual tension between the two of you is -"

"Ginevra, dear, at least warn me to leave before you start in on a rant about any kind of sexual anything. I'm your mother, I shouldn't have to hear it." she smiled at me, and then excused herself.

I rolled my eyes and ran a hand through my hair, "We're best friends, Gin, it's always been that way."

"I had a best friend too, Mione. And I'm marrying him. Just keep that in mind. Especially with your whole FWB thing."

Without giving me a chance to respond, she stood up, carrying the stack of finished invitations and heading into the other room, no doubt to give them to her mom to mail out.

I sighed. Ginny didn't know anything. Just because she and Harry got married didn't mean anything for me and Malfoy. We really were just friends, and we'd never done anything until a month ago.

Well except for that one time Junior year at Billy Jenkins party -

But that didn't count, we were like sixteen.

Ginny was just the type of person to want a Happily Ever After for everyone, even if it was totally improbable. I mean in high school she swore up and down that I was going to marry Jonathan Bridges from Chemistry - turns out he's married now. To Brandon Lynn.

I saw that coming, but apparently she didn't. Ginny's like that sometimes, completely clueless about the obvious.

So I wasn't exactly surprised that she thought that about Malfoy and me. I mean plenty of people had thought that back in school since we were always seen together - but all we were was friends.

He'd been there for me when my parents died, he'd been there for me when I'd gotten kicked out of my old flat because I couldn't afford the rent, he'd bailed me out of plenty of situations - and I'd do the same for him.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and stood up, bringing the rest of the invitations with me.

When I walked into the living room I saw Mrs. Brown, the seamstress, and three dresses that looked to be overrun with tulle.

It was going to be a long day.

**DPOV**

"How you manage to continue to shag Granger remains a mystery to me, mate."

I stopped hitting the punching bag in front of me for a second to turn and look at Blaise, "What?"

"I mean think about it. Granger's hot. She's single. She's smart. She's got a pretty damn good job at that art gallery. She can't possibly stay single that long."

"She doesn't want a relationship." I said simply, turning back to the punching bag.

"Yeah," he said, his breathing labored as he ran on the treadmill, "But she's going to meet someone eventually, mate, and then you're going to be kicking yourself in the arse."

"Why?" I asked, not stopping what I was doing.

Working out - aside from fucking Granger - was my favorite way to let off steam, and since Blaise worked out regularly too, I always ended up going with him.

"Why? Come on man, you can't be that stupid."

That did make me stop what I was doing, and I turned around to look at him. He wasn't on the treadmill anymore. Instead he was watching me, an amused smirk on his face.

"Excuse me?"

He shook his head and took a sip from his water bottle before answering me, "You and Granger have been flirting for years. It's only a matter of time before -"

"Shut up." I said, rolling my eyes and focusing back on the punching bag. "You're fucking insane if you think Granger and I have anything serious going on. She's my best friend."

Blaise nodded, clearly not convinced, "Whatever you say, mate. I'm going to get out of here. I'll see you tonight, right? We're going out with the girls."

I nodded absentmindedly, "Sure."

I didn't usually go out with all of them, since someone usually ended up getting into a fight - namely me or Theo. But that's because there was obvious tension between certain people in our strange group of friends.

Obviously the first issue was Weasley and I. That doesn't really need much explaining.

The second issue was Theo and Potter. This wasn't usually that bad, but it'd gotten...interesting on a few occasions. Not that I blamed Theo that much. Potter did steal his girl. Though everyone knew Weaslette and Potter were 'destined' to be together.

The third issue was Granger and Pansy. Pansy had been my girlfriend back in high school, and she'd hated Granger. She was always accusing me of spending too much time with her - which is inevitably what made me break up with her - but before I could do that there'd been a huge fight.

Granger and Pansy literally fought in the middle of the school hallway. I don't know what Pansy said, but Granger lost it. She'd never told me what it was that made her so mad - she'd never told anybody - but ever since then Pansy and Granger had tried to avoid each other as much as possible.

I silently hoped that Pansy wouldn't be there tonight. I didn't want to have to deal with her, because unless she had another new boy toy, she was going to be bugging me all night.

My head was too cloudy, and I'd been working out for too long anyway, so I grabbed my water bottle and headed out of the gym.

I probably should have asked Blaise where we were going, because I had no idea what the fuck I was supposed to wear.

Then again, I did live with Granger - and she'd spent the whole day with Weaslette planning for the wedding - so she'd definitely know where we were going.

I had a feeling that tonight was going to be a long one.

~OoOoOoOoOoOoO~

"Granger come on, I'm sure you look fine." I said, speaking through her closed bedroom door.

"Ginny has lost her mind if she thinks I'm going to wear this. It barely covers my arse!" she said, her voice muffled.

I rolled my eyes, "I'm sure you're overreacting."

She flung the door open, and I'd never been more thankful to Weaslette before in my life.

Granger looked fucking fantastic.

The dress she had on was a black halter neck with the back completely open, and an amount of cleavage that didn't leave all that much to the imagination, add that to the mile high shoes she was wearing, and I couldn't imagine anyone _not _liking it. Well aside from Granger herself.

Not that I cared. I liked seeing her body.

"Can you believe this? I mean if I bend down the whole bar is going to get an eye full of my arse!" she complained, her full lips in a perfect pout - her _red_ lips.

"Well it's quite a nice arse, Granger." I said with a smirk, taking in the rest of her appearance.

Her lips were a deep red, making it hard to look at anything else, her cheeks were a bit pink - though I was pretty sure that was embarrassment at the fact that she was really wearing this dress, and her eyes were kohl lined - which usually annoyed me on other women, but it just looked hot on Granger.

Shocker. My fucking bookworm best friend is the only one who can pull off 'sultry' without looking like a whore.

"Malfoy," she groaned, "Ginny's going to be here any minute and make me go out in this ridiculous looking -"

"Granger," I said, sliding my arm around her waist and yanking her towards me, "You look hot."

She blushed, "Shut up, Malfoy."

"I'm serious. If Weaslette and Potter weren't going to be here soon I'd -"

She didn't let me finish my sentence, instead she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me into a kiss. I smirked against her lips and pulled back slightly, "Granger, we really don't have time for this."

"But you definitely seem...excited to see me." she said, her eyes trailing down to the more than noticeable bulge in my black jeans.

This witch...

I glanced at the clock, "We've got at most fifteen minutes, Granger, and you know I like to take my time."

She giggled and said, "Please, Malfoy? We don't have to have sex."

I raised an eyebrow, "And what exactly did you have in mind?"

She blushed, "You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't be an arse."

I chuckled and pushed her backwards into her room.

She kicked off her shoes, and I pushed her down onto her bed and crawled between her legs.

I slowlypulled her underwear off, tossing it onto the floor, and pushed her legs apart.

She was leaning up on her forearms watching me, and for some reason I liked that. We hadn't really gone down on each other, aside from one other time before this - and that was the first time we'd fucked.

Not for my lack of trying, though. I'd wanted to go down on Granger plenty of times, but she always came up with some reason not to.

But I knew her well enough to know that she just didn't want to do it because she was uncomfortable with it - shy bookworm to the end.

I smirked up at her, her eyes were bright and excited and her breathing was labored.

Oh yes, I was going to have fun with this.

* * *

**Okay, so I'll continue this lovely little lemon right where I left off later tonight or tomorrow - and since these chapters are shorter I'll actually be able to update like a normal person on a regular schedule lol. **

**Plus WWMTB is giving me some serious stress O.o **

**Anyway, I'll probably post the lemony part of this later tonight, so keep an eye out for that. **

**Leave me reviews because they make me write faster (: **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, just like I promised, chapter three! (and it'****s way longer than what I intended ****so don't get too u****sed to a long a****s****s chapter like thi****s lol).****  
**

**Oh, and a guest reviewer commented and asked what Draco was thinking considering Hermione's basically the perfect girl for him - well you need to keep in mind, neither one of them wants a relationship. Yet. (:**

******Enjoy lovelies. (:**

* * *

**HPOV **

Seeing Malfoy between my legs was definitely one of the hottest things I'd seen. He was smirking up at me, his silver eyes sparkling with a dark promise, and part of me was _really _embarrassed about having him..._there_. But the other part of me, the part that wanted this, was telling me to shut up and let go for once.

"Tell me something, Granger, do you want me to do this?" he asked, his voice deep and incredibly sexy.

It was hard to believe that this was my best friend - then again I guess at the moment he really wasn't.

"Malfoy, we don't have time for this." I groaned.

"Tell me," he said, sliding one of his incredibly skilled fingers inside me.

I moaned and arched into his touch, wanting him to move faster.

"Tell me," he said again, adding another finger before moving them in and out faster.

"Fuck, yes. I want you to do this." I panted, not knowing what to do with my hands. I tangled them in my hair, the sheets, the pillow, but nothing was working for me.

I heard him chuckle, and then I felt his tongue against my clit, and I involuntarily bucked up against his mouth. Everything was too intense. His fingers were still pumping in and out of me, and his tongue was relentless against my clit.

I could feel the familiar pull in my stomach, telling me that I was close. _Really _close.

"Oh god, Malfoy. I can't -" I was cut off when he curved his fingers and hit a particularly sensitive spot.

He chuckled at my reaction, the vibrations going straight to my clit.

I bit my lip, trying to get my breathing under control, but it was useless. He was pushing me closer and closer to the edge.

"Shit, Malfoy." I moaned, my hands searching for something to hold on to.

A split second before I came, I felt him grab my hand.

* * *

**DPOV**

I laced my fingers through Grangers just as I felt her pussy contract around my fingers, and she moaned again, and the sound went straight to my dick. She was hot like this. She fucking tasted hot too.

When she finally got the energy back to lift herself onto her arms and look down at me, I smirked at her, "Enjoy yourself, Granger?"

"That I did, Malfoy, that I did."

She seemed to realize that we were still holding hands, and a strange expression crossed her face before she pulled her hand away slowly, and pulled me towards her, crashing her lips against mine.

I groaned into her mouth and she flipped us over so that she was straddling my waist.

"Granger, now we _really _don't have time for -"

"You went down on me, let me repay the favor." she said, unbuttoning my pants and pulling them down enough so that my dick sprang out. Then she moved next to me, her eyes meeting mine briefly.

She bit her lip, and the look on her face was a mix between anticipation and nervousness.

"Granger you don't have to - holy _fucking hell_."

Without warning she took me in her mouth, her head bobbing up and down in time with her hand.

I tangled one hand in her hair, while I slid the other one to her clit, causing her to moan around my dick.

"Fuck, Granger."

"Malfoy," she said, her hand still moving up and down my shaft while she looked at me, "If you keep doing that, I'm going to - _shit._" she gasped, and I smirked, sliding my fingers in and out of her already dripping pussy.

"Fuck Potter and Weaslette," I muttered, pushingher so that I was on top, and then in one smooth move I was inside her.

"Malfoy, Ginny and Harry -"

"Shut up, Granger, and let me fuck you."

She slid her arms up my back, her nails scratching me like she always did - not that it bothered me one fucking bit.

We were both so wound up that it didn't take long for me to feel her clamping down on me, and hear her mumble out a string of incoherent words, before we both relaxed on the bed.

After a few seconds there was a slight knock and then Weaslette's voice came through the door slightly muffled.

"When you're done in there, we'd like to go out...no rush or anything, though."

I could hear the laughter in her voice, but I didn't really care. From what Granger told me, Weaslette knew we were hooking up.

Granger, on the other hand, seemed completely mortified.

"Oh my _god. _Malfoy I _told _you we didn't have -"

I leaned over and kissed her, effectively shutting her up, and then stood up, fixing my pants.

"Get up." I said, picking up her lacy red underwear and tossing them at her.

She rolled her eyes and slid them on, "Thanks."

She quickly fixed her hair, re-did her lipstick, and tried - pointlessly - to pull her dress down.

When she seemed at least somewhat content with how she looked she grabbed her purse from her dresser and gave me a small smile, ushering me out of the room.

Weaslette and Potter were sitting on the couch talking, but when we walked in Weaslette smirked and Potter looked like he wanted to sink further into the couch.

Granger didn't seem any better.

"Well are we going to discuss -"

"No we are not." snapped Granger, "We're leaving."

She ushered everyone out the door, and then turned around to lock it.

"You know, it's really not that bad." I said, trying to hide my amusement.

She turned around and leaned against the door for a second before she said, "You're really lucky you're good."

With that she grabbed my sleeve and pulled me along after Weaslette and Potter, but she still seemed tense.

"Granger, relax -"

"Pansy's coming tonight."

Oh. Well that would explain it.

"We don't have to go." I said, falling into step next to her.

"I didn't just get dressed up like this to _not _go." she said with a smirk.

* * *

**HPOV**

I can't remember exactly how all of us started hanging out, but it was obvious who got along with who. And after my fight with Ron there was even more tension than usual - plus seating was a bit of an issue.

Malfoy and I wouldn't sit by Pansy or Ron, Theo wouldn't sit by Harry, and Pansy was constantly trying to slide up next to Malfoy, which was making it incredibly hard to stay civil.

"Drakey, dear, why don't you dance with me?" she asked, leaning into him to be heard over the thumping of the base.

Malfoy looked over at me, but I didn't meet his eyes. He could do what he wanted. I mean they'd dated for the majority of junior year, and I'd put up with her for that long - what was another night?

A few seconds later and Malfoy had disappeared, no doubt onto the dance floor, leaving me at the bar.

Though my solace didn't last very long, because a guy slid onto the bar stool next to mine.

"Can I buy you a drink?"

He was attractive enough from what I could tell. Dark hair, tall, slightly muscular. I took one look out on the dance floor and saw Pansy all over Malfoy, and made my decision pretty quickly.

"Please," I said with a smile.

"So what's your name?" I asked, forcing myself to focus on him, and not the little spectacle that was going on on the dance floor.

"Micah, and you?"

"Hermione,"

"Well it's nice to meet you." he said, ordering me another rum and coke.

"Thank you," I said, downing half the glass in one go. I suddenly wanted to get drunk. Very, very drunk. Drunk enough to ignore Pansy, and Ron, and Malfoy.

I wanted to get drunk enough to dance with this guy - Micah - and actually have fun.

"Another?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

I nodded, "Please, and then let's dance."

He nodded, ordering me another drink, and then asked, "So are you here by yourself?"

I snorted, "I might as well be."

The alcohol was going to my head and I found myself realizing that I really didn't care. Micah was funny and cute and I wanted to dance.

I stood up, swaying slightly in my sky high heels, and took his hand, "Dance with me."

He chuckled, "Alright."

We walked onto the dance floor, losing ourselves in the other people and the music.

His hands slid over my hips, pulling my back against his chest, and I was actually having fun, fun with this random guy at a bar. That was definitely a new one for me.

Not that I was too concerned with that at the moment. Micah was a good dancer, and the alcohol made me brave - that and the fact that Pansy had definitely managed to piss me off without saying a word to me.

Malfoy was my best friend, and if he liked her, fine. I wanted him to be happy with whoever, but I would _rather_ it not be that cow.

Not that I'd tell him that.

Then again, maybe I should.

I was jarred out of my thoughts by Micah whispering in my ear, "Do you want to get out of here?"

I was about to open my mouth and say no, when I realized that I wanted to go. The club was crowded and loud, and I wanted some fresh air.

"Sure," I said, leaning in so he could hear me.

He smiled and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek, before taking my hand and leading me through the mass of dancing people.

When we got to the door he held it open for me, and I instantly felt better feeling the cool fall air hit my cheeks. I leaned back against the wall and closed my eyes, trying to find my balance.

The shoes weren't helping, but there was no way I was taking them off. The ground looked disgusting.

"You okay?" asked Micah, moving in front of me, his fingers trailing down my cheek.

Inside the club, with the strobe lights, it was hard to see what he'd really looked like in too much detail, but out here with the streetlights, I knew who this guy was instantly.

"Micah Cavanaugh?"

He smiled, "I wondered when you'd realize it was me."

Micah and I had dated for a while during senior year before Ron and I, and he'd been amazing. Incredibly sweet, polite, always worried about how I was doing.

Time had treated him nicely, and he looked even more handsome than he had back in high school. He was taller than I remembered, and had more muscle. But he still looked like the Micah I knew.

"How've you been?" I asked, throwing my arms around his neck and hugging him.

He chuckled and hugged me back, his arms sliding around my waist just like they had so many times before.

"I've been good, Mione. What about you?"

The casual way my nickname rolled off his tongue made me smile and feel like really no time at all had passed - though one look at either of us proved that it had.

"I've been good, Micah. God, it's been so long."

He nodded, releasing me slowly, "Do you...I don't know...want to go get a coffee or something?"

I smiled, "I'd love to."

"You look great, by the way." he said once we were seated comfortably inside the coffee shop.

I couldn't help the blush that covered my cheeks, and said, "Thank you. You look good too. So similar, but so different."

He nodded, "I know what you mean. You still look like my shy girlfriend, but then again what you're wearing..." he trailed off.

I chuckled, "This was not my idea."

He laughed, "I kind of figured."

The conversation flowed easily with him, like it always had, and he managed to completely distract me from the bull shit going on at the club.

I felt my phone vibrate in my purse for what had to have been the millionth time, before I finally sighed and looked at it.

There were four missed calls. One from Ginny, one from Harry, surprisingly one from Ron, and one from Malfoy.

I rolled my eyes and decided to text Ginny.

_I'm fine, tell everyone to stop freaking out. I left the club. Don't wait up._

I clicked send and then turned my phone off, sliding it back into my purse.

"The worried friends, I'm guessing." he said, gesturing towards my purse.

I nodded, "Yeah, all of them probably thought I got kidnapped or something. I don't even want to know what the voicemails say."

He chuckled and said, "I'd like to see you again - at a normal time."

I laughed, "Yeah, three in the morning at a coffee shop isn't exactly the ideal place."

"Any place would be an ideal place with you, Hermione. I've missed you." he said, his tone serious.

"You could've called." I said softly.

"I know...but then you and Ron started dating. That's a lame excuse isn't it?" he said, chuckling.

I smiled, "Just a little. We were really good friends Micah, you could've called me."

"I just didn't want it to be weird. I mean you were dating somebody new, and I...still had feelings for you." he said, the last part coming out in an awkward rush.

My eyes widened and I didn't know what to say. I mean what could I say?

"Well we're talking now." I said, deciding that was the best thing I could say.

He nodded, "Yeah, and I really want to get to know you again. This new Hermione Granger."

I chuckled, "She's not that different from the old one."

"I think she's more different than you think." he said with a small smile.

We talked for a while after that, catching up on what had happened in our lives since high school - it turned out he was the CEO of an art company in Paris that was huge, and I was insanely jealous.

"God, my dream job would be to work in an art gallery like that. Don't get me wrong, I love my job now. It's amazing. But Paris? What are you even doing here?"

"Recruiting new members." he said with a smile, "I didn't know you'd gone into the art field, but since you have, maybe you'd want to hear about it?"

"Are you serious? Of course!" I said, but quickly realized it was four in the morning and I was functioning on zero sleep, "But we should probably talk about this later. I'm not sure I'd remember anything you told me now."

He laughed, "Of course."

He wrote his number down on the napkin his coffee had been sitting on and said, "Give me a call tomorrow and we can meet up. I can show you our office here in London, but if you do decide to take the job, it'd be at our main branch in Paris."

Whoa. I hadn't thought about that. I would have to totally uproot myself from where I'd grown up. Was I willing to do that?

"Don't stress about it right now, Mione." he chuckled, "I'm just letting you know."

I nodded, telling myself that after a few hours of sleep, a nice shower, and another cup of coffee I'd be more equipped to deal with this piece of information.

**DPOV**

I was beyond pissed at Granger. It was almost five in the fucking morning and she still wasn't here. I had no idea where she went, and the only thing she told Weaslette was that she left the club.

I was going to strangle her.

Just as I was about to try and call her, the door opened.

Her eyes widened when she saw me, clearly surprised that I was still awake, but she quickly moved past me, kicking her shoes off into the corner.

"Why are you still up?"

"I was waiting for you, since you apparently can't call or text me to let me know you're okay." I snapped.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh come off it, Malfoy. You seemed to be having a fabulous time with Pansy, and I didn't want to ruin it for you. You're welcome."

Pansy?

"This is about Parkinson?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"This is about you doing whatever the hell you want, and allowing me to do the same." she said, pushing open the door to her room.

I followed her, leaning against the door frame, and said, "I'm sorry. You know how Pansy is. I danced with her, sure, but nothing happened. She's trying to be friends."

"She's trying to fuck you." she said, but it was obvious that the words had left her mouth before she realized what she was saying, because a fierce blush tinted her cheeks.

"Granger, don't be -"

"You can't really be that obtuse." she said, dropping her dress and turning around to face me.

I was momentarily distracted by the fact that all she had on were the red lace panties I'd tossed at her before we left.

"Earth to Malfoy." she snapped, pulling a tank top on, "She doesn't want to be your friend, she wants to be your fuck buddy."

I chuckled and stepped closer to her, "You're my fuck buddy."

"For now,"

"Granger, you know I don't like Pansy like that. I haven't for a really long time." I said, joining her on her bed.

She sighed, "I know. I just...I don't like her, Malfoy. I'd never tell you not to talk to one of your friends, but you should know that she doesn't want the same thing you do."

I ran a hand through my hair and wrapped the other arm around her shoulders, pulling her over to me. I pressed a kiss to her forehead and said, "You're the only person I want to do this stuff with, Hermione."

It was rare for me to say her first name, and I heard her sharp intake of breath when I did. I don't know why I'd never really called her by her first name, but I just didn't - and she didn't do it with me either.

"Okay," she said softly.

"So where the hell did you go?" I asked, letting her go and standing up to grab her sweatpants.

"I went to get coffee with Micah."

"High school Micah?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

She nodded, "Weird right? He's in town to recruit new people for his art company in Paris. He even offered to tell me about the job."

That did catch my attention.

"A job. In Paris?"

She nodded slowly, sliding into the sweatpants.

"You want to leave London?"

She shrugged, "I don't know what I want. It doesn't hurt to look."

I didn't like the idea of my best friend leaving London, but I wanted her to be happy, and I knew how much art meant to her.

"Well I'll support you with whatever you decide."

She smiled, "I know you will. That's why you're my best friend."

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**Okay, leave me reviews you lovely people! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Another chapter longer than I intended...maybe it's because I write these in school when I should be working on homework? I don't know...**  
**Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy, and sorry about the cliffhanger ending, but if I would've kept writing this chapter would've been way long, and I'm actually trying to keep these chapters around 2000-3000 words. **  
**Review lovelies, they make me happy (:**

****** fixed some errors (like the ****spacing and the **dollars/pounds thing) I'm from America, so that's likely to happen again, just leave a review and I'll fix it!*****

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**DPOV**

"Have you given any more thought to moving out, Draco?"

I ran a hand through my hair and forced myself not to glare over the table at my father.

Lucius Malfoy, for all extents and purposes, was pretty much a giant arse. He didn't care what he had to say or do to get his way, and he was pretty much ruthless - which I guess worked for him since he'd been successfully running Malfoy Industries for the past thirty some years.

Just the way he looked commanded attention, which of course he didn't mind one bit. His face seemed to be permanently set into a frown, his features were sharp - much like my own - and his blonde hair was cut shorter than mine, highlighting just how much of a hardass he looked.

He was a good businessman. I just didn't agree with most of his ideals. You could say that he had a very different view of people than I did.

"I'm not moving out. I told you this already."

My mother glanced between the two of us, always playing peacemaker.

She was the total opposite of my father. She was actually _nice_ and _happy_. Her features were just as sharp as my fathers, but somehow they seemed softer on her. She had long, straight blonde hair that fell to her waist, bright blue eyes, and she was tall and thin.

"Lucius, he's already said -"

"I heard what he said, and now _I'm_ saying he needs to think again." snapped my father.

"I don't need to think again. Granger's my best friend and -"

"Why do you insist on hanging around that girl? She's nothing but trouble, and she's going to bring you down with her."

"How is she trouble?" I asked, glaring at him over the rim of my wine glass, "She's worked harder than any of us, she has a good job, she pays her half of the rent, she never does anything reckless. So explain to me how exactly she's going to bring me down."

My mother opened her mouth to talk, but he interrupted her.

"Pansy was a lovely girl with a good family, and -"

"This always comes back to the money for you, doesn't it?" I spat, disgusted.

"Everything always comes down to money, son. That's how the world works, and if you really plan on taking over the company in three months time, you're going to have to figure that out." he said, his steel eyes glaring into mine.

I remembered when I used to be intimidated by him, back in high school. God, he would barely look at me, and he'd have me running for the hills.

But those times were long gone. I was an adult, and I could live wherever I damn well pleased.

"Lucius, they've been best friends for years, and she's a lovely girl. Why -"

"She can be as lovely as you want, that doesn't change the facts." he said, taking a sip of his drink.

My mother looked at me, trying to judge how mad I was, but I didn't say anything to her, instead turning my attention back to my father.

"And what are the facts, exactly?"

"She doesn't have enough money to support herself - she's practically an orphan -"

"Shut up." I said, pushing away from the table, "Hermione has worked damn hard for what she has, and maybe she can't afford a place on her own right now, but if I didn't have you two, neither could I."

"But that's just it, Draco. You do have us. You were born into a good family, and you're lucky for it. You should honor that gift by associating yourself with people who are worth your time."

I nodded slowly, "You're right."

He smiled and opened his mouth, but closed it when I stood up.

"I think I'm going to take your advice, _Father_, and associate myself with people worth my time."

"Well then where are you going?"

"Home."

"What? Didn't you listen to a word I -"

"I heard every word, Father."

"So then why are you going back to that flat with Miss Granger?" he asked, following me to the door, my mother trailing behind him anxiously.

"Because she's worth my time, and some of the people in this house aren't."

Before he could reply I pushed open the front door and headed down the long gravel driveway to my car.

"Draco!"

I turned around and saw my mother walking towards me, a card in her hand.

"Here,"

I looked at it and it was a black envelope with silver writing embossed on the front saying, _You've been cordially invited._

"For what?"

"The Halloween Ball. We have it here every year, remember?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

I nodded, "Why are you giving me an invitation? I'm pretty sure whst just happened proves I'm not going to be welcome."

"It's my house too." she said, "And I want you there. You and Hermione - if she'd like to come that is."

I opened my mouth to protest, but she just held up her hand, "Just think about it. Ask her what she thinks. Please?"

I nodded, "Alright, I'll ask."

She smiled and kissed my cheek, before walking back inside.

I slid the invitation into my pocket and then got into my car.

The Halloween Ball was an annual celebration that my parents had. It was usually a masquerade, because they wanted it to be formal.

It's not exactly formal if you have people dressed up as zombies.

I didn't know if I was actually going to show Granger the invitation or not, because I was pretty sure my parents home was the last place she wanted to be. Even if my mother did invite her.

**~OoOoOoOoOoO~**

"I don't have money to buy a dress."

I rolled my eyes, "I'll pay for -"

"No."

I'd shown Granger the invitation, and she'd smiled, but then came up with the fact that she didn't have the money.

If she wanted to go, we would go. Dress be damned.

"Granger, come on. Think of it as an early Christmas present."

She raised an eyebrow at me, and handed the invitation back, "Right, because you're not going to go out and buy me something else when Christmas comes around."

I chuckled. She knew me too well.

"Come on, I'm actually offering to pay for you to go shopping." I said, moving in front of her, "You know you want to."

She laughed and swatted my arm, "Draco Malfoy, I am not going to let you pay for a ridiculous dress. I didn't go last year, and it won't kill me not to go this year."

"What if I told you I wanted you to go. My mom even asked me to ask you."

She sighed and walked past me, moving to sit down on the couch.

"I don't know, Malfoy. Your mom's nice, but your dad...he's made it more than obvious that he doesn't exactly appreciate our friendship."

I sat down next to her and shrugged, "We talked at lunch today."

"Oh?" she asked, her eyebrows shooting up.

I nodded, "Yeah...it would seem that we're not exactly talking to each other at the moment."

She frowned, "I don't want you fighting with your dad because -"

"Granger, even if it weren't for you, we'd still find something to argue about. We just don't get along. We don't see eye to eye, and I don't think we ever will."

"Oh, Malfoy, don't say that. He may be a difficult man, but he's still your dad. You're lucky enough to still have him." she said softly.

I instantly felt like a giant arsehole. Here Granger was, listening to me bitch about my father all the time, when she didn't have either one of her parents.

"Granger, I'm really sorry. I wasn't thinking, and -"

"Shut up, Malfoy." she said with a small smile, "It's okay. Really. Anyway, your dad is an arse, but I just...I want you guys to have a good relationship, because one day when he's not around you might actually miss him."

I didn't think this was very likely, but Granger knew more on the subject than I did, so I simply nodded and said, "Alright, I'll keep an open mind...if you let me buy you a dress."

"Malfoy," she groaned.

"I'm serious, Granger." I said, leaning over to poke her sides.

She laughed and slapped my hands away, "Fine, I'll let you buy me a damn dress."

* * *

**HPOV**

I was excited. I couldn't help it.

I hadn't been to the Malfoy's annual Halloween Ball since our senior year of high school, but from what I remembered it had been hands down the most extravagant party I'd ever been to.

All the women in their long flowing dresses, big ball gowns, short party dresses - it was all so amazing to see.

And the music had been a variation of classical music and the newer, more our age stuff. It was amazing, and even though Lucius and I didn't get along, even back then, I hadn't let him ruin my fun.

Every year since then, though, I'd avoided going - especially since things between Lucius and Malfoy just seemed to get worse.

Most of it, of course, was because of me. Lucius didn't think that I was good enough to be friends with his son because I wasn't rich like they were.

The one good thing was that Malfoy wasn't like Lucius in that regard. He'd told me five thousand times that he didn't care how much money I had. He liked me for me - and that's when I'd known that we were going to be best friends for a long time.

But I couldn't help but feel guilty, because Malfoy was always defending me against his dad, and all it did was start more trouble between the two of them.

His mom, on the other hand, was pretty nice. She was really reserved and didn't say much, but she always had a smile or a serene look on her face.

"You know you didn't actually have to come with me." I said, leaning into Malfoy's side as we walked through downtown London.

He chuckled, "Yeah, I did or you would've bought the cheapest dress just so I wouldn't have to spend any money."

"You know me so well." I said with a smile.

We walked from one ridiculously overpriced store to another, and just when I was about to give up and tell Malfoy to forget about it, I found the perfect dress.

It was the beautiful deep red color that attracted me to it first. I pulled the dress off the rack and looked at it.

The bust had jewels covering it, and had a satin belt the same color as the dress cinched above the natural waist, with small jewel embellishments in the center. The rest of the dress fell in an A-line style all the way down to the floor.

"Try it on before you start drooling, Granger." said Malfoy, an amused smirk on his face.

I looked at the price tag and almost got a heart attack.

"Five hundred pounds? Are you insane? I'm not letting you buy this for -"

"Try it on." he said, shoving me in the direction of the dressing room.

I put the dress on, already feeling self conscious - which was ridiculous considering the fact that he'd seen me in countless dresses - most of them horrible.

I took a deep breath and stepped out of the room, looking to my right to see Malfoy leaning against the wall.

When he saw me his eyes instantly lit up and he said, "Wow, Granger. You look amazing."

I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn't help but smile. He was right, I did look amazing.

"Thank you."

"So get changed so I can buy it and we can get the fuck out of here." he said, laughing.

I chuckled and did what he asked, returning from the dressing room back in my clothes.

"You know you don't have to do this right?" I asked as we walked over to the register.

"I know that I don't. So let it go."

I sighed, but didn't say anything else, putting the dress on the counter so the woman could scan the barcode.

"This dress is beautiful." she said, looking between Malfoy and I, "I wish I went places where dresses like these were required."

I just smiled, not really knowing what to say to that. I didn't exactly go places where dresses like that were required on a regular basis.

She slid the dress into a garment bag, and then Malfoy handed over his credit card without so much as batting an eyelash.

I envied him sometimes, for having money - only because it made life so much easier for him. He didn't have to worry about nearly as many things as I did as far as money was concerned.

The fact that he was always willing to buy things for me, it was nice, but it made me uncomfortable. I wanted to be able to work for the things that I wanted, but my job at Buchanan's Art Gallery wasn't exactly paying me the big bucks. It paid enough for me to afford my half of the rent, and food - but that was it.

That's why I was giving Micah's offer so much thought. I didn't know how much the job at his company in Paris - what was the name of it again? - would pay, but it had to be better than what I was getting paid now.

Of course that meant I'd be leaving behind all my friends to go to Paris and start over - without anyone's help, and I didn't know if I could do that.

The sad part was, I loved my job. Everything about working there was new and exciting, and I really did love art - the only problem was the pay.

But it was a pretty big problem.

Not from where Malfoy was standing, because he always offered to pay the rent so I'd have money to do other things, but that definitely wasn't happening. I needed to be able to do things by myself, because whether I liked it or not, he wasn't going to be around to save me all the time.

He swung the garment bag over his shoulder and wrapped his other arm around my shoulders as we walked out of the store.

"Are you hungry?"

"No," I lied.

I didn't have to look at him to know that he was rolling his eyes, "Come on, we'll stop and eat. I'm hungry."

I sighed, but followed him through the busy streets of London, everyone bustling in and out of restaurants since it was around six.

He led the way to Gillian's Bistro, and pushed open the door. The warm smell of fresh bread and cakes hit my nose instantly.

"I haven't been here in forever." I said as we sat down at a table.

He smirked, "I know. The last time you went was with me."

I nodded, and just when I was about to relax - because really this wouldn't be the first time Malfoy paid for dinner - I saw none other than Pansy Parkinson walking towards us.

Well this dinner just got a lot more interesting.

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**Leave a review? (:**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, here goes chapter five. The next chapter should be interesting...can anybody say masquerade? **

**Leave me a review, you know I love those. **

**Aaaaand on a side note, for those of you reading WWMTB I am _sooooo _sorry about my lack of updating...I'm just...stuck. I'll get back to it as soon as I can, I promise. Until then, enjoy this story (: **

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**HPOV**

"Hey Drakey!"

In that moment I wanted nothing more than to shove Pansy right back out that door - but I was pretty sure that wasn't something civilized people did in public.

"Hey Pansy." he said, looking between the two of us.

I kept my eyes trained on the girl behind the counter. She must have been new because she was trying - and failing - to get the espresso machine to turn on.

I knew how frustrating something like that was. I worked at a coffee shop my senior year of high school until my second year of college and -

"I'd love to."

I was pulled back into their conversation when Pansy pulled up a chair and sat down.

"How've you been, Hermione?" she asked, giving me a fake smile.

I gave her one right back and said, "I've been great, and you?"

I couldn't believe Malfoy had actually invited her to eat with us. Was he _trying_ to make me commit a murder? And last I checked, he hadn't even liked her.

Then again that whole thing at the club kind of proved me wrong. And they were always so back and forth.

When I glanced up at him he tried to smile, but I didn't return it, instead I took a sip of my water and tried not to strangle Pansy.

"I've been awesome. My father and Lucius have actually been talking about working together on a few business ventures, so the Parkinson household is in incredibly high spirits. Not that you understand about business, but still." she said, that superior smirk on her face that I was all too used to.

I nodded, as if I cared. _Ha,_ Pansy and her whole stupid stuck up family could fall off the face of the earth for all I cared.

And yes, I did _in fact_ know a lot about business. I had a bachelors in business. Just because I worked at an art gallery didn't mean I was stupid. And last I heard, the only thing she did at work was sit around and drink coffee.

"Yeah, my father told me about that." said Malfoy.

"Isn't it exciting? Aren't you taking over the company in a few months?"

Ah, yeah. He'd told me about that.

"Yeah, three months. And exciting isn't exactly the word I'd use." he said with a chuckle.

Someone kill me. Please. _Now._

"Oh? But why? You'll be an _amazing_ CEO." she said, placing her hand on his arm.

"I don't doubt that." he said, arrogant as ever. It didn't particularly bother me so much, because he was right. He knew his stuff, and he'd be a kick-ass CEO. That was for sure.

"Well good," she said, leaning forward so her newly-implanted breasts stuck out of that tiny little thing she apparently thought was appropriate to wear as a shirt.

That was the last straw for me.

I pushed my chair back abruptly and stood up, mumbling something about needing some fresh air, and then pretty much _flying_ from the restaurant.

I pulled out my phone immediately and dialed the first number that came to mind.

"Hello?"

"Micah, it's me."

"Hermione? Hey, I was wondering when you'd call." he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

"I was downtown...maybe we could meet up?"

"Sure, I'll be there in like five, four, three..."

I spun around and he was standing right in front of me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, putting my phone back in my purse.

He chuckled, "I just finished interviewing someone, and was looking for coffee. Is this place any good?"

He motioned to _Gillian's_ and I shook my head, "Um, no. Well yes, but I know some place better."

Just as we were about to walk further down the street, Malfoy walked out the front door of the restaurant, with Pansy close behind him mumbling something about going back inside to finish their discussion.

"Come on, let's -"

"Granger, wait!"

I groaned as Malfoy and Pansy walked over to Micah and I.

_"Draco?"_

Malfoy's eyes widened and he nodded, "Micah, nice to see you again."

Micah nodded too, and then looked to me.

"Can we talk?" asked Malfoy, ignoring Pansy and looking directly at me.

"Actually, _Micah and I_ were just about to go and get coffee." I said, glancing between him and Pansy, "Besides, it looked like you and Pansy were having a conversation."

"We were." she said, a scowl on her face.

"Shut up, Parkinson." he snapped. "Granger, please?"

"I can wait, Mione." said Micah, giving me a shy smile and a shrug.

I sighed, giving in, "Alright. The coffee shop is called _The Spot_. It's just up the street to the left. Can't miss it."

He smiled, "Do you still drink what you always did?"

I laughed, "There's no way you remember that."

He shrugged, "I guess we'll find out. It was nice to see you both again." he said, acknowledging Pansy for the first time, before he excused himself and headed down the street.

"Pansy, do you mind?"

"We were talking, Draco. You can't always drop everything to run off and make sure she's okay."

I snorted, "She's right, because I'm fine. Go back inside and finish your dinner. Far be it from me to ruin your good time."

Malfoy turned his piercing gray glare on me, and I quickly shut my mouth.

"Pansy, _go the fuck away_ so I can talk to Granger." he said through clenched teeth.

Her eyes widened and she disappeared back into _Gillan's._

"What the hell, Granger?"

"Oh don't you try to turn this around on me. You invited her to eat dinner with us, _really?_ You can't honestly be that obtuse. _We can't stand each other._ What part of that are you having trouble grasping?" I snapped.

He narrowed his eyes and took two steps closer to me, "I was trying to be _nice."_

I snorted, "Well as lovely as it is for you to care about her feelings, I wish you would've taken mine into consideration too."

He ran a hand through his hair and said, "This had nothing to do with you -"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I must have missed the part about it having nothing to do with me while you both acted like I wasn't there."

"We were just talking about the business. You know that our parents have worked together before." he said, taking another step closer, but this time I stepped back.

"Well then maybe you should get back in there and discuss it some more. I know how important running the business is to you." I said sarcastically.

"Granger, come on. I don't want to fight with -"

"Then don't." I said simply, "Micah's waiting for me."

And with that I turned on my heel and headed towards _The Spot_.

**DPOV**

I didn't know why it was so important for me to make sure Granger was okay, it was just what I did. What I always did.

I watched as she ducked into a coffee shop to meet up with Micah.

It shouldn't bother me as much as it did, because I _knew_ Micah was a good guy. He'd dated Granger for a while. He was definitely a way better person than Weasley, and definitely better _for_ her.

Blaise's words from earlier in the gym came back to me. Something about Granger finding a guy eventually. Maybe Micah was _that_ guy.

I shook my head. What did I care?

But I did care, the _why_ was what was eluding me.

I debated on following her, but figured that would just piss her off even more - which was another thing I didn't understand.

_Why the fuck was she so mad?_

Granted, inviting Pansy to sit with us wasn't my brightest idea, but I hadn't expected her to leave. If I'd known that I definitely wouldn't have asked her.

I ran a hand through my hair and walked back into _Gillian's_.

Pansy wasn't a bad person, and our fathers frequently did business together, so we were always thrown together in high school. I guess that's part of the reason why I forgave her for her bullshit so easily.

I mean sure, she irritated the shit out of me on a regular basis, and I didn't like her the way she apparently liked me, but we'd been friends for a while.

"Finish your little chat with the damsel in -"

"Drop it Pans." I said, too tired to actually put any force behind my words.

She rolled her eyes, but changed the subject, "So are you going to the Halloween Ball?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm -"

"Fabulous, I'm going too. We'll have a great time. Narcissa was so excited the last time I spoke with her about it. She said that it was going to be the best one yet."

"Really?" I asked, not at all interested in the answer.

I was too busy wondering what the hell Granger and Micah were doing. Maybe I should ask her about him when she isn't ready to bite my fucking head off...

"...should match. What are you wearing?"

"Um...what?"

She rolled her eyes, "I said we should match, you know? Dates usually try to -"

"Dates?"

"Well we're going together, right? We always did." she said, breezing along as if I wasn't totally confused.

"Anyway, my dress is dark purple, so you should wear a -"

"Pans, I'm not going with you." I said, shaking my head, "Granger's going. I'm taking her."

She raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you sure your parents are going to approve of that?"

"My mother invited her."

Her eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head when she replied, "_What_? Are you kidding me? She's probably just doing it to make you feel better. I don't think she actually wants -"

"I know my mother." I snapped. "If she didn't want her there, she wouldn't have asked."

"How is she even going to afford a dress?" she asked, clearly on the verge of throwing one of her famous Parkinson Hissy Fits.

"I bought it for her."

"You did what?" she asked, her voice rising, "Why the hell -"

"Friends help each other out, Pansy. Maybe you should try it some time." I said, motioning for the waiter to bring me the check.

"Oh come on, Draco. You know as well as I do that she's not exactly going to fit in with all of our friends and our parents friends."

"I guess we'll just have to see about that."

I threw forty pounds down on the table to pay for the food - food I hadn't touched - and headed out of the restaurant.

I had to walk past _The Spot_ to get back to the flat, and when I passed by the glass window I saw Granger and Micah at a table in the back, seemingly in an amusing conversation, because Granger was laughing, and Micah had a smile on his face.

Out of nowhere an unusual amount of anger surfaced at the sight - unusual because why wouldn't I want Granger to be having fun?

I clenched my fists and continued down the street, walking the five blocks to our flat at a clipped pace.

I pushed open the door , dropped Granger's dress onto the chair, and went straight to the liquor cabinet. I always did love a good Whiskey with dinner.

I snorted at the thought. I sounded like my father. He always had Whiskey with dinner, and it used to irritate my mother. "Everyone knows you have wine with dinner, Lucius." she'd say.

I rummaged through the fridge until I found the pasta Granger had made last night. I put that into the microwave and when it was ready I took that and the bottle of Whiskey to the living room.

I flipped on the TV, clicking through mindless garbage until something on the local news station caught my attention.

I turned up the volume, took a bite of the pasta, and listened.

_"Malfoy Industries CEO, Lucius Malfoy, announced that in three short months control of his company will go to his only son, Draco Malfoy. We've seen quite a lot of the London Party Boy, but we know that he's a very accomplished young man. In the interview with Sharon Sommers, Mr. Malfoy spoke candidly about his hopes and dreams for his company, and he was very positive that his son would be able to handle any challenge thrown his way. He had no comment on the rumors of Malfoy Industries and Parkinson Construction coming together, but we're sure to hear something soon, whether it be from Lucius Malfoy himself, or his son. In other news..."_

Well that was surprising.

He'd never told me that he thought I could do a good job running his company. I mean I had plenty of business experience, and I was sure I could do it - but _he_ didn't seem sure.

Until now, I guess. Then again, that could always just be for the benefit of the press.

And what the hell was up with the Malfoy/ Parkinson thing? From what I'd heard we were going to be buying part of their business.

I guess my father was starting to reconsider. It's not like he knew all that much about construction - or wanted to - from what he'd said to me about it.

Either way, I didn't care, but I was sure that Pansy and her father weren't going to be too thrilled about this.

I took a drink from the Whiskey, enjoying the slow burn as it slid down my throat, and leaned my head back against the couch.

The fact that Pansy had just assumed we'd be going together still bugged me, especially since I hadn't gone as her date last year either.

We met up there and hung out, but it wasn't a date.

Right?

I groaned and looked over at Granger's dress. She looked fucking _amazing_ in it, and I could only imagine Pansy's face when she saw her in it.

I shook my head and pulled my cellphone out of my pocket. I saw that I had two text messages, one was from Blaise and the other was from Theo.

Theo's text said, _"Who are you taking to the Halloween Ball?"_

And Blaise's said, _"And if you say anyone other than Granger I'm going to fucking hit you."_

I rolled my eyes and sent the both the same message, _"If she's still talking to me, I'm taking her."_

I tossed my phone down onto the coffee table and stood up, putting my dishes in the sink, and the Whiskey bottle on the counter.

I was debating on if I should get drunk, for old times sake, but the door opened.

"Malfoy? Are you home?"

"Yeah," I said, grabbing the bottle and shoving it under the sink.

Granger hated when I drank, because apparently I turned into an even bigger arse - I, personally, didn't see how that was possible - but whatever.

She leaned against the kitchen door frame and sighed, "I overreacted."

I raised an eyebrow, curious to see where she was going with this.

"I just...you know I can't stand her, and it just pissed me off that you didn't consider how I would feel when you asked her to join us. I'm supposed to be your _best friend,_ but sometimes it's like you care about other people's feelings more than mine - that being said, I shouldn't have reacted how I did. Pansy's your friend, and I get that. I would never tell you not to hang out with her. I just...I want you to respect the fact that I don't."

She was right. And I felt like an arse.

"You're right. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."

She nodded and glanced down at the half open cabinet under the sink and smirked, "You should put the Whiskey back in the liquor cabinet."

With that she turned around, grabbed her dress off the chair, and disappeared into her room.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the bottle.

Nothing got past her.

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**Leave me some reviews...and maybe some time this month I'll find the inspiration to actually write another chapter of WWMTB. **

**Finger crossed. **

**(: **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, as requested I did add a little Blaise/ Theo in there, and not to worry, they will definitely be back in the next chapter as well. Think of them as...comedic relief, because they're really just there to make you guys smile (: And I hope they do. **

**So leave me a review, tell me what you think about this chapter...aaaand what you think about the ending (;**

**Enjoy. **

* * *

**DPOV**

All things considered I was surprised that Granger was still going with me to my parents Halloween Ball, but I still felt like a total arse over the whole Pansy thing, so I was going to make it up to her.

Now I wasn't stupid. I knew Granger _hated_ me spending money on her, especially on what it was that I bought her, but it _meant_ something.

I fiddled with the long rectangular box for a while before shaking my head and tossing it onto my bed. What kind of guy bought his best friend jewelry?

What the _fuck_ was _wrong_ with me lately?

I picked up my phone and texted Blaise, _"I blame you for this shit."_

I got a response almost instantly.

**Blaise: Blame me for what?**

**Draco: The fact that I'm overanalyzing everything with Granger.**

**Blaise: (: You're welcome.**

**Draco: Fuck you.**

**Blaise: I think we have a bad connection, mate. You're breaking up, but I'll see you tonight at the party with your DATE.**

**Draco: You can't have a bad connection while TEXTING, fucker.**

**Blaise: What was that? This connection is horrible. (:**

I wanted to strangle him.

Instead I dropped down onto my bed and threw my arm over my face. What the _hell_ was going _on._

Before I could think on that any further, Granger was knocking on my door. I knew I had like two seconds to shove the jewelry box out of her sight before she opened the door.

I managed to shove it under my pillow, and then push myself into a sitting position by the time she pushed the door open.

"I don't want to go."

I raised an eyebrow, not at all surprised. I'd pretty much figured she was going to say that. "Why?"

She rolled her eyes, "Does it matter?"

"Granger, come here." I said, moving to scoot back against the headboard.

She did as I asked and sat down next to me, my arm around her and her head on my shoulder. I couldn't even count how many times we'd sat here talking for hours about nothing and everything.

"So tell me."

She let out a long sigh and said, "I won't fit in."

"You fit in just fine senior year." I reminded her.

She shook her head, "No. I didn't. The only difference was back then I didn't notice it."

"Granger, my mother likes you -"

"And your dad hates me. Moot point."

_"Moot?"_ I asked, a smirk threatening to escape.

"So not the point, Malfoy." she said.

"Well then what is the point?"

"The point is that I don't want to feel like I do around Pansy, but with like, _five hundred_ other people. Everyone's going to take one look at me and think -"

"That you're the prettiest girl in the room." I said, interrupting her.

She smiled and her cheeks turned pink, and for some reason the sight was really satisfying.

"Thank you, but I doubt that's true. All those girls your dad tried to set you up with...they were all _gorgeous_ and I'm sure they're going to be there."

I shrugged, "Sure they were pretty, but -"

"Pretty? _Pretty?_ Those girls were stunning. I still think you're crazy for -"

"Granger," I said, giving her a look. She closed her mouth and motioned for me to continue, so I did.

"They were pretty, but they were boring. You're gorgeous and interesting."

The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying, and her eyes widened for a moment.

"You...you think _I'm_ gorgeous?"

I will _not_ let Granger turn me into some stuttering mess. I said it, so now I just had to go with it.

"Of course I do. I wouldn't be fucking my ugly best friend."

She laughed, "I thought I was your _only_ best friend?"

I chuckled, "That's true too."

"Good," she said with a smile.

"So please, will you still come? My mom wants you there...Blaise and Theo want you there."

She looked down at the comforter beneath us for a moment before her eyes met mine, "Do _you_ want me there?"

I was surprised by her question. Why wouldn't I want her there?

"Of course."

She nodded slowly and then let out a sigh, before standing up and stretching her arms above her head.

The action caused her tank top to slide up, exposing her stomach, and something in me clicked.

I leaned forward and tugged on the hem of her shirt, causing her to step forward so I could wrap my arm around her waist and pull her down on top of me.

She laughed and asked, "Malfoy, would you like to tell me what you're doing?"

"I'd rather just show you." I said with a smirk.

I rolled so that she was underneath me, and then leaned down and kissed her.

I felt her smile against my lips as she wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me closer.

Somehow kissing her just felt right. It always had, if I were being honest with myself.

Which I wasn't.

So I stopped thinking so much, and just kissed her back.

She pushed against my chest lightly and I moved away slightly, looking down at her.

"We're going to be late. I need to get ready." she said softly, her eyes sparkling and her lips kiss-swollen.

There was no way I was letting her get ready yet.

"Not a chance, Granger." I said with a smirk.

She smiled, "You're going to make us late."

I shrugged, "My parents will just have to manage without me for a while."

Without giving her a chance to argue I crashed my lips against hers, tugging her hair so she met my lips.

She wrapped her arms back around my neck, tugging me impossibly closer, before running her hands through my hair and over my shoulders.

I pulled away from her lips and kissed a trail down her neck, enjoying the small noises she made, before sliding my hands under her shirt and pulling it off.

She pulled my shirt off and tossed it onto the floor, and then ran her hands up my chest, her nails lightly scraping over my nipples.

I growled and pulled her up so we were both kneeling on the bed, and then reached behind her and unclasped her bra.

She smirked and pulled me back into a kiss while my hands massaged her breasts.

She moaned against my mouth and the sound went straight to my dick, making my loose basketball shorts feel tighter than they should.

She slid her hand inside my shorts and I groaned, biting her neck.

"Malfoy," she said, her voice breathless.

I pushed her hand away and slid her pants and underwear down before sliding my fingers along her clit. Her nails dug into my shoulders and she groaned, so I slid my free hand to her lower back, keeping her pressed against me. I moved my fingers faster, loving the small moans that were flying from her lips.

She pushed her thighs together, keeping me from moving the hand that was toying with her clit, so I pushed her back onto the bed and moved between her legs.

I put my hands on her knees, keeping her legs open, and then brought my mouth down to her clit, flicking my tongue across it, and causing her to arch her back.

"Oh god, _Malfoy."_ she panted, her hands twisting in the sheets.

I chuckled and she moaned loudly, grinding her pussy against my face.

_Fuck_ she looked hot.

I moved one hand from her knee and slid two fingers inside her, curving them up to hit her g-spot.

"Ohgodohgodohgod," she moaned, her hips moving off the bed.

A few seconds later I felt her pussy contract, and then she came all over my fingers, mumbling words I couldn't understand under her breath.

I pulled away and smirked up at her, licking my fingers.

Her cheeks were flushed and she quickly looked away from me.

I chuckled, pushed my basketball shorts off, and climbed on top of her.

"You always did taste good, Granger." I said against her ear.

She groaned and pulled me into a fierce kiss.

I couldn't wait any longer.

"Granger,"

"Please,"

I didn't need more than that. I slammed into her hard, and paused for a second, letting her adjust.

_"Move,"_ she said, her nails digging into my back.

I chuckled, making a mental note to check if she'd actually left scars on my back from all her damn scratching.

I picked up my pace, all the while trailing kisses down her neck and across her collarbones.

I shifted slightly and she gasped, and I knew I'd found her spot. I continued pushing into her and her legs around my waist got tighter, and I knew she was about to come.

I leaned up and pressed my lips against hers, and she kissed me back with fervor, right before I felt her walls clench for the second time.

She was impossibly tight, and a few seconds later I came too, resting my forehead against her shoulder.

The only sound in the room was our labored breathing, and I leaned up on my forearms to look down at her and she smiled.

"Well that was definitely worth being late for."

I chuckled and she groaned.

I raised an eyebrow at her and she raised one right back at me.

That's when I realized that I was still inside her, and my laughing had made me move.

I chuckled and moved to get off her, but she slid her hands into my hair and pulled me down into a soft kiss, her lips barely touching mine.

"You really shouldn't be allowed to be as good as you are." she said, loosening her grip on my hair.

"You'd rather I not be able to make you come multiple times?" I asked, chuckling.

She laughed and said, "Well no, I quite like that."

I leaned back down, trailing my lips over hers while I said, "So do I."

I pressed one more kiss to her slightly parted lips, and then pulled out of her.

I moved and pulled my basketball shorts back on, foregoing the shirt since I had to get dressed in my tux anyway.

Granger was still lying on my bed, under the covers now, watching me.

It wasn't lost on me that that was the longest Granger and I had actually stayed in bed with each other after we'd fucked, let alone me still _inside_ her.

But somehow it wasn't as weird as I'd thought it was going to be.

But it should be weird. This was fucking. It wasn't a relationship. That's what people in relationships did.

I shook my head and told myself that I was going to have to have a serious talk with Blaise about this whole Granger thing.

It was his fault that I was even thinking this much about what Granger and I were doing, so he was going to help me figure out how to stop it from continuing.

She pushed the blankets off herself and grabbed her underwear and my shirt off the ground, putting them on before she stood up.

"I'm gonna take a shower." she said, heading over to the door.

"Oh no you're not." I said, blocking her exit, "I need to take a shower."

"Well I guess you should have thought about that before you decided you wanted to have sex." she said, a sassy smirk on her face.

"Granger -"

"Oh don't get your panties in a twist, Malfoy. If you can keep your hands to yourself we can shower together. It's big enough."

Me? Keep my hands to myself?

That wasn't going to happen.

**HPOV**

We ended up being forty minutes late, because Malfoy couldn't keep his hands to himself and we'd ended up fucking in the shower before actually getting clean.

I was nervous and twirling a strand of hair around my finger while biting my lip.

Malfoy parked in the driveway - that was filled with cars - and came around to open my door.

I hadn't even noticed him get out.

Before I could walk towards the house he grabbed my elbow and pushed me back against the car, his eyes searching mine.

"Are you okay?"

"No," I said honestly, "I'm nervous and I don't want to be here."

"They'll love you." he said with a small smile.

I wanted to believe him, but there were _plenty_ of things that made that notion pretty impossible.

"And if they don't?"

"Well then I'll still love you anyway." he said, a soft smile on his face.

I chuckled, but was still surprised. He hadn't told me he loved since my parents had died. I knew that he did - I'd known him for most of my life - but it was still nice to hear him say it.

"Hmm, is this the part where I say I love you too?"

"Shut up smartarse." he said with a smile, "Oh, I almost forgot."

He reached back inside the car, sliding a black masquerade mask over his face, and then handed me the most beautiful mask I'd ever seen, in the same red as my dress.

"It's beautiful, thank you."

He chuckled, "No need to thank me. It _is_ a masked ball."

He offered me his arm and I slid mine through his and we walked through the doors into Malfoy's parents house.

It was just as grand - if not more so - than the last time I'd been there. Everything was just so _huge._

There were people in beautiful outfits and fancy masks everywhere, twirling around with grace that I couldn't even _begin_ to compete with.

I mean if you've been taking ballroom dance lessons since age six, it's kind of an unfair advantage over those of us average people.

Then again, I guess I was the only average person here tonight.

A few people stopped to stare at us as we crossed the ballroom floor to find a table, but I was pretty sure it was because everyone knew it was Malfoy.

No one else had his hair.

Then again they might be staring at me, wondering what the hell Malfoy was doing with -

That's when it hit me - not many people would actually know it was me. I was wearing a mask for god's sake.

Panic attack avoided, I decided to focus on what Malfoy was saying as we took our seats at the table.

"My parents are walking over here." he said, his voice tight.

That, of course, caused my panic to come back again full force. This had been a really terrible idea. Maybe I could just sneak away before -

"Draco, I'm so glad you came." Narcissa pulled Malfoy into a hug, and I stood up as well.

"And I'm going to take a wild guess and say that this is Miss Granger." she said, a genuine smile on her face.

"Hermione, please." I said.

She surprised me by pulling me into a hug. Who knew?

Standing by silently during this whole encounter was Lucius. He looked as severe as ever. His hair was slicked back, he had on half a mask like what the Phantom of the Opera wore, and his suit was jet black and tailored perfectly.

He towered over me - not that this was a surprise. Almost everyone towered over me, but still. His presence alone was intimidating, add onto that the scowl on his face, and I was ready to run for the hills.

Malfoy must have sensed my intent, because his hand went to the small of my back as he said, "Father, you remember Hermione."

He looked at me with barely concealed contempt and said, "She would be hard to forget."

Now, coming from anybody else this would have been a compliment, but coming from him it was almost the equivalent of saying that I stuck out like a sore thumb, so it'd be hard to forget that I'd marred their oh-so-perfect lives.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Malfoy." I said quietly, not meeting his gaze.

He simply grunted and turned his attention to Malfoy, "I'd like a word."

"I'd rather not." he said, sliding his arm around my waist and giving me a quick squeeze. For some reason this was reassuring.

"It wasn't a question."

"That doesn't change my response." he answered back evenly.

I was always so impressed to hear Malfoy talk to Lucius, because he seemed to know what to say every time to best him at his own game.

"Watch yourself, Draco." he said, stepping closer to us.

I took an instinctive step backwards, but Malfoy pulled me closer to his side while saying, "Don't ruin mom's night. She worked hard on this. If you want to discuss something with me, we can do it later."

Lucius looked like he wanted to punch Malfoy, which isn't something I'd ever thought I'd see on the face of a parent towards their child - but Lucius Malfoy seemed to defy all normal parental logic.

Without a word he turned on his heel, leaving Malfoy, Narcissa, and I looking at each other awkwardly.

Well actually, they were looking at each other, I was looking at the floor.

Somehow I always managed to start an argument between Lucius and Malfoy.

"I'm really sorry Mrs. Malfoy." I said, finally forcing my eyes off the floor.

Her eyes widened for a moment before she shook her head and took a step forward, placing her hand on my arm, "It's not your fault. Lucius is just...harder to handle. Go on, enjoy yourselves. I've worked hard on this, and I won't have Lucius ruining this for you two. It's been years since you came."

This last part was directed to me, and I didn't know what to say. It's not like I'd known she wanted to see me. All throughout school neither one of Malfoy's parents had cared too much to meet me. What changed?

Luckily I didn't have to respond, because Malfoy spoke up.

"I'll talk to him later."

She shook her head, "Don't fuss over it. It's fine. Go have fun."

With that she spun around and headed off to talk to other guests.

"I'm sorry." I said, turning to face Malfoy.

He looked genuinely surprised, "For what?"

"Every time you bring me to some family thing it causes a problem between you and your dad." I said, glancing around the room. Not because I cared to see what was going on, but so that I wouldn't have to look at Malfoy.

"It's not your fault that he has a problem."

I just shook my head, my eyes still scanning the ballroom.

He groaned and slid his hand into my hair, turning my head so I was forced to either look at him or, I don't know, rip my hair out.

"It's _not_ your fault. Are you listening to me?" he said, his gray eyes intense.

Something about that caught me off guard, and I found myself nodding, "Yeah, I'm listening."

He smirked, "Good, now dance with me."

I felt my eyes widen and I shook my head, "You know I can't dance. Not like them."

I watched the perfectly skilled dancers twirling around the floor looking as graceful as could be, and I knew that if I attempted any of that I'd end up flat on my arse in front of all these people.

"You danced with me senior year."

I groaned at the memory, "That was humiliating. Besides, I stepped all over your feet. I was horrible."

"Well it was the best dance I had all night."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah right, you danced with Veronica Mills, and she's taken ballroom dancing longer than you have. You guys looked amazing."

"Well yeah, she was definitely a better dancer than you - by a lot - but I had more fun with you." he said, chuckling.

"How was me stepping all over you fun?"

He shrugged and brushed it off, "Dance with me."

I sighed and slipped my hand into his, following him onto the dance floor.

"This is a horrible idea." I said, unable to hide the smile on my face. I _had_ had fun dancing with Malfoy - humiliation aside.

His hands slid to my waist, and I felt a random burst of butterflies erupt in my stomach. I shook my head, telling myself that I was just nervous about making a fool out of myself.

Which was a very good possibility.

I moved my arms to his shoulders, absentmindedly toying with the hair at the nape of his neck, and he chuckled.

"You do that all the time."

I looked up at him and shrugged, "Habit. I think I've been playing with your hair since we met."

He nodded, "You have."

We tried for a while to keep up with the music, but I narrowly missed stepping on his foot for the tenth time, so after laughing at my frustration, he simply pulled me closer, his hands sliding to my lower back, completely ignoring the tempo of the song, and swayed back and forth in a small circle.

"This is why you shouldn't dance with me. I make even _you_ look horrible."

He laughed, and the sound was warm and comforting by my ear as he said, "No one can make me look bad, Granger. I'm Draco Malfoy."

I rolled my eyes, "You should learn the meaning of the word humble."

"I know the meaning, I just don't practice it." he said, his thumbs drawing small patterns on my lower back.

I was about to open my mouth, but just then Malfoy was jolted forward by Blaise and Theo clapping him on the back at the same time, which almost caused me to fall backwards.

Thank god Malfoy had fast reflexes, because he quickly pulled me upright, spinning around to glare daggers at Blaise and Theo.

"Oh, hey Hermione. Wow, you look great." said Theo, giving me a hug.

Blaise nodded, "Stunning as always."

I rolled my eyes, "You guys look great too."

"Of course we do." said Blaise, smirking over my shoulder at Malfoy.

"Leave it to Draco to get the prettiest girl in the room." said Theo, smirking at Malfoy.

"Enough," groaned Malfoy, stepping up next to me.

"What?" asked Theo, an innocent smile on his face, "We're just complementing Hermione here. It's the _nice_ thing to do."

Malfoy rolled his eyes and laughed, putting his hand on my lower back, and steering me to our table.

I rolled my eyes. Boys were something else.

They continued their weird arguing for a while, and I just listened, letting them do whatever it was they were doing, when someone called my name.

"Mione?"

I glanced up from my wine glass, and even though I couldn't see his face, I knew exactly who was standing in front of our table.

"Micah?"

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**Alright lovelies, leave me a review and tell me what you thought. **

**And what in the _world _is Micah doing there? We'll find out next chapter. (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**Enjoy lovelies, and leave me a review (:**

* * *

**DPOV**

"Hey, wow. You look...wow."

Granger stood up and hugged who I now knew was Micah, and said, "Thank you, you look 'wow' too."

Micah ran a hand through his hair, and finally took his eyes of Granger long enough to address the rest of the table.

"Hey guys."

Blaise and Theo said hello, but I just nodded.

Why the fuck was he even _here?_

Why the fuck was I mad that he was?

I shook my head and took a deep breath, "Why don't you join us?"

He looked over at Granger, who had sat back down next to me.

She looked up at him and smiled, "Yeah, you should join us. Catch up with everyone."

I fought the urge to laugh. The only person Micah wanted to catch up with was her - not that I blamed him.

He took a seat by Theo - thank god - and turned to talk with them.

"I didn't know Micah would be here." I said, turning towards Granger.

"And I was supposed to know?"

"He's your friend."

"It's _your_ parents house." she countered, glaring at me.

"Why would my parents invite him?"

"Why would I?"

"Because you like him." The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I was saying, but I knew what I said was true, and it pissed me off.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" she snapped, "Last I checked I was allowed to have friends."

I laughed, but it wasn't because I was actually amused, "Right, because you stay out with friends until five in the morning after ditching your friends at the -"

"First of all, I didn't _ditch_ anyone at the club. You guys were all off doing something, so I went off and did something too. As for hanging out until five in the morning, _we've_ stayed out even later. Does that mean that I like you too now?"

I rolled my eyes, "We're friends, Granger -"

"We're friends too." she snapped, obviously trying to keep her voice down.

I took a deep breath, shutting my mouth before I pissed her off even more, because I really didn't want to fight with her.

"Fine." I said, looking back over at her.

She was still glaring at me, her arms crossed in front of her.

I leaned forward and grazed my lips over her ear before saying, "Please don't be mad at me."

She sighed and said, "I'm not mad."

"Promise?" I asked, leaning back far enough to see her face.

She chuckled, "Yes, I promise."

I smiled and sat back in my seat. I don't know why, but hearing her say that she and Micah were just friends made me feel better.

Not that I didn't want her to be happy, but -

"Hey Drakey, I was wondering when I'd find you."

I looked up and saw Pansy standing in front of the table in a dress that I could only assume resembled a peacock.

Not to say it looked bad per say, just...interesting.

The pattern of the skirt - which was one of those really weird poofy tulle things - was that of a peacock's feathers, and the bodice was a darker blue that had jewels along the neckline - which, if I knew Pansy, were there to attract more attention to her cleavage. Her mask was the same darker blue and one side had a peacock feather on it.

I couldn't help but think that Granger looked better. Pansy's was over the top and loud and meant to command attention, but Granger's was...it was _her._

And plenty of people had been looking at her when we came in - and still were now.

"Hey Pansy."

The rest of the group, minus Granger, chorused hello's as well.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked, taking a seat next to me.

I looked over at Granger and smirked, "Yeah, we're having a great time."

She rolled her eyes, but a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Her perfectly pouty red lips...

_Fuck._

I shook my head and looked back over at Pansy, who seemed to be trying to figure out what to think of Granger's dress.

She seemed to come to a conclusion and looked back over at me, "Seems you have great taste in dresses."

"She picked it, I just paid." I said with a shrug.

Granger was looking over at Blaise, Theo, and Micah, no doubt wishing to be on that side of the table.

I sighed. I wished that Pansy and Granger could just get along. It would make my life a whole lot easier.

"Well it looks great." said Pansy, looking over at Granger.

Granger seemed to realize that she was talking to her, and her eyes widened slightly before she said, "Thanks." and then turned her attention back to Micah, who was apparently asking her something.

A few seconds later she said, "If you'll excuse me." and stood up.

She took Micah's hand and he led her onto the dance floor, and since he already knew about her lack of dance skill - they did go to prom together - they just swayed back and forth.

I wonder if that's what _we_ had looked like earlier, because they looked like a couple having a private moment, not friends sharing a dance.

"...dance?"

I looked back over at Pansy and shook my head, "What?"

She rolled her eyes, "I asked you if you wanted to dance."

I glanced over at Blaise and Theo who were shaking their heads. All of a sudden my phone vibrated in my pocket once and I pulled it out.

**Blaise: You do NOT dance with Pans, you go and interrupt M & H. NOW.**

I rolled my eyes and looked back over at Micah and Granger, who looked to be doing _just fine_ without me.

**Draco: Doesn't look like she wants to be interrupted.**

With that I put my phone back in my pocket and took Pansy's hand, leading her out onto the dance floor.

"Your mom did a great job with this." she said, looking around the dance floor as we danced in step with the music.

_This_ was how dancing was supposed to go, but I took one glance over at Micah and Granger and I knew I'd rather be doing that than this.

Not that I didn't like Pansy's company. She seemed to be having one of her 'good days'.

"Yeah, she worked hard."

"It shows." she said softly.

We danced in silence for a few moments before she spoke up again.

"Can I ask you something, Draco?"

"Sure."

"What is it that you see in Hermione?"

I raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm not stupid. Anyone with _eyes_ can see the chemistry the two of you -"

"We're friends."

"No," she said, a smirk on her face, "I know what being friends with you is like. _We're_ friends. You and Hermione...you guys...you guys are definitely _not_ friends."

"God, not you too. Everyone has this stupid idea that we like each other and -"

"Theo told me that you guys are sleeping together."

_Oh._ "So?"

"Look, I like you. You know I like you, but I'm not stupid enough to think that you'd pick me over her -"

"I'm not picking anybody -"

"Would you just shut up and let me talk?" she asked narrowing her eyes.

I sighed, but nodded.

"You guys like each other, and if you keep acting like you don't, she's going to get away. _That,"_ she said, nodding over to Micah, "Is your competition. They have history that the two of you don't have. He knows her as a girlfriend, but I still think you have the advantage."

"Advantage?"

"Well for one, you're already sleeping together, and for two you know her better than any of us do. You've been her best friend since day one. That means something." she said.

I was starting to get a headache from this.

Why was _Pansy_ of all people telling me that I needed to go after Granger?

"Why are you telling me this?"

She sighed and looked up at me, "Because, contrary to popular belief, I'm not a bad person. I do care about you, and I want you to be happy. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not a fan of Hermione, but I don't have to be. It's not about me."

Wow. That was unexpected.

"So go. Before you regret it. I know what that's like too." she said, a sad smile on her face as she pushed me in the direction of Granger.

I had no idea what it was that she expected me to do, because I still wasn't sure that I even felt what everyone was telling me that I was feeling, and even if I _was_ I didn't know that I'd want to have a relationship - or that she did.

Granger saw me walking towards her, and stopped 'dancing' with Micah.

"Hey," she said, eyebrow raised.

"Hey," I said, the capacity for speech suddenly leaving me.

Why did she have to look _so...so...fucking hell_ I needed to get a grip. She was still the girl I'd known for most of my life.

"I'm, uh, going to go get a drink." mumbled Micah.

Granger barely glanced at him, before turning back to me.

"Dance with me." I said, for lack of anything to say.

She tilted her head to the side, something she did when something really made her think - apparently me this time - before she stepped over to me.

Her arms went up to my shoulders and mine slid to her waist. Since we already knew actual dancing wasn't going to happen, I just pulled her closer, like we'd been before.

"Pansy looks great tonight." she said softly, her cool breath tickling my neck.

I chuckled, _"You_ look great tonight. Stunning, like Blaise said."

I heard the smile in her voice when she said, "Well you're just full of compliments for me, aren't you? First you call me pretty, then I'm gorgeous, then you love me, then I look great, and now I look stunning. I'm rather liking all this."

I smirked and traced a pattern on her lower back with my thumbs before saying, "I've complimented you before."

She nodded, "Yeah, I suppose that's true."

We swayed in comfortable silence for a while before she lifted her head from my chest and looked up at me with a smirk.

"Anybody ever tell you you're a great dancer?"

I laughed and said, "Oh no, this is all you. I couldn't look this great without you."

She smiled, a slight pink tint coming to her cheeks before she said, "Of course not. I'm amazing."

I looked down at her, finally realizing how close we were - close enough for me to see the little flecks of gold in her toffee colored eyes - and said, "Yeah, you are."

She took in a sharp breath, her eyes never leaving mine.

I don't exactly remember _how_ it happened, just that it did.

We both stopped swaying at one point or another, and I slid my hand to her cheek, the other resting on her waist, and leaned down, pressing my lips to hers.

She sighed, and I felt her hands in the hair at the nape of my neck as she kissed me back. It wasn't like how we usually kissed...more so like the way I'd kissed her earlier after we'd had sex.

It _was...nice._

After a moment I pulled away and looked down at her, and she still had a confused look on her face, but her cheeks were tinted pink.

"What was that for?" she asked softly.

"I wanted to."

Her eyes widened and she glanced around, "People are staring."

I shrugged, "Can't really say that I care."

She chuckled and stepped closer to me, resting her head on my chest again and said, "Are you making this complicated, Malfoy?"

I smirked, "Maybe."

I glanced over at our table, and Blaise and Theo were grinning like Cheshire cats - and for some bloody reason I returned the smile.

Actually I knew what the reason was, and she was currently playing with my hair.

"I didn't know your dad knew Micah."

I turned to see where she was looking, and sure enough my father was talking to him over by where the glasses of champagne were.

"I didn't think he did. I mean he knew of him since you guys dated for a while." I said with a shrug.

"Maybe it's because he owns that art gallery in Paris." she said.

I shrugged, "Maybe,"

I knew that probably wasn't the case, because my dad was the last person that would care about art. But he didn't care for construction either, and was still planning on working with Parkinson Construction.

I didn't want to think about it though, because I was perfectly happy right where I was.

**HPOV**

Confused wasn't even the word.

Dumbstruck. Confounded. Baffled. Befuddled. Bewildered. Perplexed. _Discombobulated._

I had absolutely no idea why Malfoy had kissed me like that, but I couldn't exactly say that I didn't like it...

Okay, I loved it. I was willing to admit that I had some feelings for Malfoy that went beyond our casual arrangement - and maybe he did too - but that didn't change what we'd said.

Relationships were complicated and they could ruin our friendship.

Then again, Ginny had said something to me on the phone earlier today that did make some sense.

_"You guys already basically act like you're dating, what would be the difference?"_

_"That we'd actually be dating!" I said, running a hand through my hair._

_I heard her laugh on the other end of the line before she said, "Mione, you need to relax. You weren't like this with Micah or Ron or anyone really."_

_"I know, but they weren't my best friends, Gin. What if putting a label on what we are ruins everything?"_

_"But what if it makes everything five thousand times better?"_

I hadn't known what to say to that, but I had to admit that dating Malfoy didn't sound like a horrible idea.

The problem was that I didn't know what _he_ thought about the whole thing.

Then again, why would he have kissed me, here of all places? We never really did anything like that in public, because everywhere but in our flat we were just friends.

I needed to stop thinking about this before I ended up with a migraine.

"As much as I'd love to continue to grace these lovely people with my amazing dancing, I think I want to sit." I said with a chuckle.

He smirked and nodded, taking my arm and leading me back to the table.

I looked over at Blaise and Theo, who were smirking at Malfoy.

"Anybody ever tell you you're a great dancer, Hermione?" asked Theo, smiling over at me.

I rolled my eyes, "Your sarcasm has been noted."

He laughed, "Then my job here is done. I'm going to go see if that beauty in the green wants to dance."

With that he walked across the dance floor, and did in fact get the girl to dance with him.

Blaise stayed seated, that smirk still in place from earlier.

"You know, your face might get stuck like that."

He looked over at me and laughed, "Indeed. Have either of you seen Micah?"

I pointed over to where he and Lucius were still talking, and Blaise raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't think he'd take my advice _now."_

"What advice?" I asked, taking a sip of the champagne that Malfoy handed me.

"I told him he should talk to Lucius about working together on an advertising campaign for his business, and since Malfoy Industries is known everywhere, I figured it'd be a good shot."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Well I hope he convinces Lucius to do it. He's worked hard." I said.

Blaise nodded, "Not many people can say they started their own business and ended up turning it into a widely known company by age twenty five."

"Did he tell you where they were advertising to?" asked Malfoy.

"Yeah, China. Most of Europe and the UK have branches of the business there, and there's even a few in America. China's the next logical step."

Malfoy and I both nodded, and then he turned to me.

"Even if my father says no, I'll just say yes in three months when I take over."

My eyes widened out of surprise. I hadn't exactly felt like Malfoy liked Micah too much, but apparently I was wrong.

Or he was just doing it for me.

Either way it was nice.

"Wow, really?"

He nodded, "You guys used to be really close. It's the least I could do."

"Always knew you had a soft spot." said Blaise, "Never thought it'd be towards Micah."

"It's not." said Malfoy, his eyes on me.

Blaise chuckled and said, "Well I'm going to go...somewhere that isn't here, and do something other than...this."

He stood up and walked over to where Micah was now standing without Lucius, and they fell into conversation, leaving Malfoy and I at the table alone.

"When I asked you if you were making things complicated, and you said maybe...what did you mean?" I asked softly.

He sighed and pulled my chair over to him so that we were a mere inches apart and said, "I don't know, Granger. It seems like it's _already_ complicated."

I couldn't help but chuckle, "Yeah, it kinda is."

He ran a hand through his hair and leaned forward as if he was telling me a secret, and asked, "Is it bad that I don't mind?"

My eyes widened and I opened and closed my mouth a few times before I finally managed to ask, "What does that mean...for us?"

"What do you want it to mean?"

I took a deep breath. This was exactly what Ginny had been talking about. Telling him how I felt. Taking a risk.

But I didn't know if I was ready for that.

"I don't know." I said softly, "I just...I care about you, you know that. I just...I don't know how...I mean it's just -"

Instead of letting me continue to ramble, he leaned forward and kissed me again.

I relaxed into the kiss, because this was something I understood with him. This was what we were good at.

Then again, we hung out all the time, knew almost everything about each other, and had sex...Ginny was right, that _was_ a relationship.

Except it wasn't, because titles made things complicated.

But like he'd said, this was already complicated.

I pulled away and looked at him, "What is it that _you_ want?"

Before he could reply Micah, Theo, and Blaise were headed back over to the table.

I sat back in my seat, trying to slow my heartbeat, and a moment later Malfoy sat back too.

He ran a hand through his hair again and sighed, before saying, "How much longer is this thing supposed to last?"

"It's only midnight, mate." said Theo, "Last years ended at what time? Like two?"

Blaise nodded in confirmation and Malfoy just sighed.

I was tired, not that I was going to admit it, but I was more than ready to go home and go to bed.

I put my elbow on the table and rested my head in my hand, trying to focus on what Micah and Theo were talking about, while Blaise and Malfoy spoke about god-knows-what.

I didn't know where Malfoy and I stood as of right now, probably in the same place we stood before we came here to be honest.

I was okay with that, in a way. Things were easier this way - complicated, but not _too_ complicated.

I listened to the soothing sounds of the live violinists, and found myself drifting off, before I managed to catch myself.

Malfoy happened to have been looking over at me and chuckled, "We'll leave soon."

I just nodded, suppressing a yawn, and before I knew it I'd nodded off again. I caught myself in time so that no one - _except Malfoy of course_ - saw.

Malfoy chuckled and pulled my chair so that it was right next to his.

"Lean on me. I'm worried you'll end up falling off the damn chair." he said with a smirk.

I would've had some sarcastic response, but I was too tired to think of one, so instead I rested my head on his shoulder, and he casually wrapped his arm around my waist while he continued his conversation with Blaise.

The violin music mixed with the soothing pattern his thumb was tracing against my side had me quickly falling asleep again.

When I woke up it was to Malfoy gently whispering in my ear.

"Come on Granger, we're going home."

I groaned, but opened my eyes. Blaise, Theo, and Micah were nowhere to be found.

"Micah wanted me to tell you goodbye. He said he'd call you later about the job."

I just nodded, not really paying attention. I just wanted to sleep. I glanced over at the giant grandfather clock and it read half past three.

_Oh my god,_ I needed to be home and in bed.

"Come on," he said, helping me to my feet.

He kept his arm around my waist and I leaned into his side trying to force my eyes to stay open.

When we stepped outside into the cool October air I thought that would wake me up, but it didn't. It just made me scoot closer to Malfoy as we walked towards his car.

He opened the door for me, and I got in, kicking my shoes off and curling up on the seat facing him.

I barely registered Malfoy pushing a stray curl from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek for a moment, before I fell asleep.

* * *

**Review? You know you want to. (:**


	8. Chapter 8

**So this lemon at the beginning happened while I was bored at school and should have been studying for my finals next week...oops.**

**So enjoy the chapter, and leave me a review.**

**There's not too much HPOV in this one, hope you're okay with that...out of curiosity, whose POV do you guys like better?**

_**If you're not reading We Were(n't) Meant to Be you can skip this next paragraph...**_

**Someone asked me about WWMTB...yeah...well...I don't even know at this point. I'm going to finish it. I promise. Just...bear with me. I probably won't do it this week because I'm studying for finals, and definitely not next week since I'm taking finals, but that weekend I'll officially be on break for two weeks so HOPEFULLY my muse comes back for that story and lets me finish writing it.**

**Okay, enough about that. Enjoy.**

* * *

**DPOV**

I was pretty much driving myself insane with the damn present I'd bought Granger.

Ever since the Halloween Ball two weeks ago, things had gone back to normal, and I was thankful - and not - for that.

That still left me with what the fuck I was going to do with this gift.

I wanted to give it to her, but she seemed so confused that night, that I didn't want to make it worse by giving her some gift that she might not even like.

I wanted her to like it, considering this gift was probably the only one I'd ever given in my _life_ that I'd put any effort into.

I could just wait until Christmas so there'd actually be a reason to give it to her, but part of me didn't want to wait.

I groaned and put the box back in my dresser drawer, refusing to think about it any further - because I was pretty sure I was going to rip my hair out if I didn't.

I walked out into the living room and found Granger in the kitchen cooking something.

"What are you doing?"

She jumped, the spatula she was using to flip something in a pan clattering to the ground.

"God, you scared me. I didn't even know you were still here." she said, her hand over her heart.

"Sorry, I slept in. I was supposed to go in to work, but...wait a minute. Why aren't _you_ at work?"

She shrugged, "I'm getting sick. I just didn't feel like going. Which is stupid I know because I can barely afford my half of the rent as it is, and I'm so sorry, because you always -"

"Granger, it's fine. I've got you. If you're sick you shouldn't be working anyway." I said, walking over to see what she was making.

"I know you do, but I don't like it. You know I want to pay my half, that was the deal we had when we moved in together."

"I've offered to pay the whole thing. I'm more than capable."

She sighed and turned around so she was leaning back against the counter facing me.

"I know that you're capable. I just don't want you to. Your dad already thinks I'm only friends with you because you buy me everything."

I didn't know what to tell her, because truth be told, I _wanted_ to take care of her. That's what friends did, right?

"I'm here to help you, just like you helped me."

"How the hell did I help you with anything? I would've been screwed if you hadn't agreed to move here."

I snorted, "And I probably would've been disowned."

She rolled her eyes, "We were already living here when you were still parading girls in and out of here."

I nodded, "Yes, but if I hadn't been living with you then we wouldn't have this awesome arrangement, besides," I said with a smirk, placing my hands on the counter on either side of her, "Why wouldn't I want to live with my best friend?"

She blushed, a small smile gracing her features, and said, "Hmm, I don't know. It seems she's more trouble than she's worth sometimes. Why _would_ you want to live with her?"

I smirked, leaning down so my lips were inches from hers and said, "I could think of a few reason."

"Do tell."

"I'd rather just show you."

Her eyes widened slightly, but before I could do anything we both smelled something smoking.

"Shit," she cursed, spinning away from me to take her now-burnt pancake off the stove.

I couldn't help but chuckle, and she turned around and glared at me. "Since you think this is so funny, Malfoy, why don't _you_ make breakfast?"

I shook my head, "No way."

"Oh, I totally understand if you don't think you can do it." she said, that damn smirk - that looked a hell of a lot like mine - on her face.

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is that a challenge, Granger?"

"Depends, if I say yes does that mean you're cooking for me?" she asked with a smile.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Out of the way. I'll show you how it's done."

She smacked my shoulder playfully and said, "I would've done just fine if you hadn't been distracting me."

"Maybe you should learn to work around distraction." I said, a smug smirk on my face.

She seemed to be contemplating something, and then smiled, "Okay, we'll see how you do."

"How I do with what?" I asked, watching her from the corner of my eye as I got out the mix to make the batter.

I moved to the counter and started stirring the batter, when all of a sudden I felt Grangers small hands wandering up and down my back.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she said, sliding her arms around to my stomach and then up to my chest, her front pressed against my back.

I knew exactly what she was trying to do, the bloody minx, but it wasn't going to work.

_Fuck._

Her hands skimmed over my dick and moved to my hips while she pressed soft kisses to my shoulder blades - I thanked the fact that I didn't have a shirt on.

Just the feel of her warm lips against my skin was enough to set me off, but I closed my eyes and tried to gain some control over a certain rapidly growing part of my anatomy.

Not that it was going to work while she was running her hands all over me.

She slid her hands back up over my dick, lingering longer than she had the first time, before sliding them up my chest, her nails gently scraping over my nipples.

"You're supposed to be stirring." she whispered.

I was about to move to the pan when she slid her hands inside my basketball shorts, her hand stroking up and down my already hard dick.

I groaned, closing my eyes and clenching my teeth. I was supposed to be making pancakes, but there was no way anything was better than this.

"Fuck it," I said. I turned around, picked her up, and put her on the counter, stepping between her legs.

Her eyes were wide with surprise, but she didn't protest when I yanked her forward so that she was pressed against me.

"I thought you weren't going to get distracted?" she asked, a smug smirk on her face.

"I lied." I said simply, sliding one hand into her hair and pulling her into a kiss.

She immediately wrapped her arms around my neck and slid her tongue into my mouth, dueling with mine, before she broke away.

I continued trailing kisses down her neck to her shoulder, where I bit down gently, causing her to moan.

"What about breakfast?" she asked, smirking at me.

"Fuck breakfast, you win, Granger. Now shut up." I chuckled, pulling her back into another kiss.

I felt her smile against my lips and I knew I didn't want to be anywhere else but right here, right now. She was perfect.

Her hands tugged at my hair and I groaned into her mouth, pressing against her even more.

She pulled away, turning her neck so that I could trail kisses down to her breasts. It was really obvious to me that we had too many clothes on, and she must have thought the same thing, because before I could do it, she pulled her tanktop off, tossing it onto the kitchen floor.

I chuckled and reached around her back, unhooking her bra, so that we were finally skin to skin somewhere.

She ran her hands over my shoulders and across my chest, before tangling them back in my hair and pulling me into another kiss.

I ran my hands up and down her sides before kissing a trail to her breasts, taking a rosy nipple into my mouth.

Her hands in my hair tightened and she moaned, arching into me. I couldn't help but smirk, because who wouldn't want to be able to do this to a beautiful woman?

I slid one hand inside the waistband of her shorts and stroked her already wet pussy through her underwear.

Her nails dug into my shoulders and she took in a sharp breath.

"Oh god."

I brought my lips to hers again, swallowing her moans as I slid a finger inside her.

She was so fucking _wet._

I moved my hand and she groaned, but I just chuckled and slipped my fingers into the waistband, helping her shimmy out of her shorts and underwear.

Her hands were on my basketball shorts, shoving them down my hips, and I couldn't help but smirk at how eager she was - not that I wasn't. It was rather...obvious, that I was.

I stepped out of my shorts and then knelt in front of her.

She looked down at me, a curious expression on her face, before she realized what I was going to do.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head, "Malfoy, you don't have to -"

"I know." I said, before bringing my tongue to her clit.

"Oh god," she moaned, "Holy shit."

Her hands were gripping the edge of the counter and her head was thrown back against the cabinets, her mouth open in a silent 'o'.

I moved my hands up and down the inside of her thighs while sucking her clit into my mouth, but ended up having to move one hand to her hip.

"Malfoy, please. I don't want to wait anymore." she groaned.

I rolled my eyes and ignored her, instead sliding two fingers inside her and curving them up.

She gasped and a few seconds later she was coming undone.

I smirked and stood up, pulling her into a kiss.

"Malfoy, please," she whispered against my lips.

"Fast or slow?"

Her eyes widened a little bit at my question - considering I'd never asked her that before, always assuming it would be fast - I didn't blame her.

"What do you want?" she asked, biting her lip.

"To be inside you already." I said, smirking when a blush tinted her cheeks.

"Well then start there."

I did as she said and slid into her slowly, enjoying how she felt around me - _fucking perfect._ Like we were meant to fuck...have sex? I didn't exactly know what to call it anymore.

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and buried her face in my neck before she whispered, "Start slow...start slow."

So I did.

I pulled out of her almost all the way before sliding back into her while my hands wandered down her sides, up her back, and into her hair.

I could feel myself getting closer and closer, but I didn't want to speed up. I wanted to stay right here inside her - and by her shallow breathing and how she was grabbing my hair and my back I didn't think she wanted to stop either.

Although that was definitely inevitable. Especially because of all the soft noises she was making into my neck.

"Are you close?" I asked against her cheek.

"Yes," she said, pulling back to look at me.

I slid one hand from her hair down to her cheek and pulled her into a soft kiss.

"I want you to come with me." I said, and her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before I felt her tense around me, triggering my own release.

The only sounds left were the muffled sounds of the TV in the living room and our breathing. It registered that we had just had sex in the kitchen - which was new. Not that I was complaining.

I was slightly surprised when she didn't pull away immediately, and when I tried to she just hugged me tighter.

I wrapped my arms around her, and a few moments later I felt something wet on my chest and realized that she was _crying._

"Granger, what's wrong?"

She shook her head and didn't say anything.

"Tell me." I said, pulling back so that she had to look at me. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

I brought my hands up to her cheeks and wiped away the tears while she seemed to study my face.

"It's not fair." she said finally, her voice almost too soft to hear.

"What's not fair?"

"That we can...we can..." but she shook her head, new tears falling down her cheeks, and I pulled her back against my chest.

What the hell was I supposed to do? This definitely hadn't happened before. Not with her, not with any girl. I was definitely out of my depth here.

I rubbed my hands up and down her back and said, "You can tell me, Granger."

"No," she said, pulling away from me to wipe her eyes, "It would ruin everything."

I frowned, "What would ruin everything?"

She shook her head and pushed me back, sliding from the counter and quickly pulling on her shorts and tanktop.

I pulled on my shorts and followed her into the living room, grabbing her arm before she could disappear to her bedroom.

_"What_ would ruin everything?"

She yanked her arm away from me and shoved me back before saying, "We can't have sex like that."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Fuck buddies don't do that. It's not...I can't...it's not fair." she stammered, attempting to move past me, but I blocked her way.

I thought I was starting to understand what she was talking about, but I wanted to be sure. I needed to be sure.

"Talk to me. Explain. Please."

Her expression was torn, and it was obvious that she was debating on whether or not she was going to tell me.

She slumped back against the wall and said, "I can't have sex with you like that again."

"Why?"

"Because it makes it really hard to pretend that I don't...that I don't like you more than I should. Which isn't fair, because we both agreed that relationships ruin -"

I didn't need to hear anymore. I stepped forward, took her face in my hands, and kissed her.

**HPOV**

"What are you doing?" I asked after he'd pulled away slightly.

He smiled and instead of answering my question asked, "So you like me?"

"Malfoy, don't. This isn't -"

"Shut up. I like you too."

I'm pretty sure my eyes looked like they were about to pop out of my head, because that had definitely been the last thing I thought he was going to say.

"Um...what?"

He smirked and trailed his lips over mine, "I," _kiss,_ "Fucking," _kiss,_ "Like," _kiss,_ "You."

I couldn't help the stupid grin that slid onto my face, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

He smiled and slid his hands to my waist before saying, "I'm glad one of us had the balls to say it."

I blushed and said, "Yeah, it only took me crying to -"

"You know I hate when you cry." he said softly.

I sighed, "Well you overwhelm me."

"I overwhelm you?"

I nodded slowly, "That...that was...more intimate than I've ever been with any of my boyfriends before and it was...well it was with you - my best friend - and we agreed no relationships because they ruin everything, and your friendship means so much more to me than -"

"Maybe we were wrong." he said with a shrug. "Maybe relationships don't ruin everything. Maybe we just need to...try."

"Try what exactly?"

"A relationship."

I wanted to laugh.

Actually I did laugh, but caught myself relatively quickly.

"I'm sorry, it's just...I mean you were _so_ against relationships and all the complications -"

"Granger," he interrupted me, "It's already fucking complicated."

I smiled, "So..."

He rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide his smile, "So be my girlfriend."

I smiled, pulling him into a kiss, before whispering, "Okay,"

* * *

**Well they finally decided to do it...but how's that going to go?**

**Leave me a review and give me your thoughts...like what about Micah? Lucius? Pansy? Draco's gift for Hermione?**

**Hmm, we'll see.**

**Oh, and someone else also asked me how long I thought I was going to make this - I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret...I never know how long my stories are going to be. Half the time I don't even know exactly how they're going to end. I just go with the flow, and when I think the characters have said all they have to say, I end it.**

**That being said, I don't think this is going to be one of those super long stories - it's just supposed to be cute with a little drama. So nothing like AMIT or LV...probably lol. I make no promises.**

**Don't forget to review and let me know which POV you like better, I really am curious. (:**


	9. Chapter 9

**So you guys have said that you like DPOV better, like I do, soooo I'm not going to feel guilty writing his POV more often (: Yay.**

**So we've got a little Micah in this chapter . Hmm...we'll see how that goes.**

**Enjoy (:**

* * *

**DPOV**

I had a girlfriend.

I had a _fucking_ girlfriend.

And honestly, I couldn't be happier about it. Especially because she was no doubt the most amazing person I'd ever met - and I'd known her my whole life.

That and the fact that not a lot really changed at home, but out in public...well what can I say? We were a couple.

When we'd told our friends everyone had pretty much said that it was about time - to which Granger told them all to shove it up their -

"Are you ready to go?"

I straightened my tie and nodded, "Yeah, are you excited?"

Her answering smile told me all I needed to know before she even started talking.

"God, I can't wait. This is like...huge."

The gallery she had helped set up was opening today, and two of her pieces were up for sale. She hadn't told me what it was, saying she wanted me to be surprised, but I had no doubt whatever it was would be amazing.

She'd been painting since grade school, and from what I could tell she only got better with time.

"I'm sure they'll sell for tons of money."

She rolled her eyes, "Sure they will. I'm just excited that they're actually letting me put two of my pieces in the gallery."

"I mean you set it all up, why wouldn't they."

"Because I'm not some great artist."

"Sure you are." I said, sliding my arm around her waist and walking her to the door.

I couldn't help but notice she looked stunning. She had on a knee-length body hugging black dress with a low-cut back and three quarter sleeves. Her make up was minimal - which was a good thing - and her curly hair was down around her shoulders. The finishing touch were her red heels that made her _almost_ as tall as me, and that made her arse look fucking amazing -

I quickly squashed that train of thought and grabbed her jacket off the hook, helping her slide into it.

She grabbed her scarf and wound it around her neck twice, adjusting the ends before buttoning up her coat.

"You look very handsome." she said, straightening my tie.

I chuckled, "And you look gorgeous."

She blushed and grabbed her purse, and I followed her out, turning to lock the door, before taking her hand in mine.

We walked the seven blocks to the gallery as quickly as we could, because November wasn't exactly a warm month.

When we got to the gallery I was impressed. Everything looked amazing. Granger had definitely outdone herself.

"Where are yours?"

"I'm not going to tell you." she said, taking off her coat and scarf and handing them in to coat check. I did the same and followed her further into the gallery that was already teeming with people.

"Then how am I supposed to know which one is yours?"

"Trust me, you'll know." she said, a small smile on her face.

"Miss Granger, could we get a picture of you and Mr. Malfoy?"

I turned and saw a woman, probably in her mid thirties, with a camera and a badge that said _Daily Providence News Team_ on it.

Granger smiled and looked over to me, and I nodded.

"Sure,"

I slid my arm around her waist and she did the same to me, and then the flash went off.

The woman then pulled out a notepad and asked, "Do you have anything you'd like to say about the gallery Mr. Malfoy? We always like to hear what friends of Miss Granger think of all her hard work."

I chuckled and said, "I think she's done an amazing job. The gallery looks fantastic, and I know she's worked extremely hard."

Granger was looking at me with a curious expression and I smirked before turning back to the photographer, "Oh, and I'm her boyfriend."

Granger's eyes widened and so did the lady's.

"Oh, my apologies. We didn't know Miss Granger _had_ a boyfriend. We've seen the two of you together a few times, but..." she trailed off awkwardly.

Granger rolled her eyes and said, "We just started dating, but we've been best friends for a really long time."

The photographer nodded and wrote something else down on her notepad, before thanking us again and scurrying off.

"Well...now your parents are _definitely_ going to know." she commented dryly.

I shrugged, "Oh well. Let them know. Let everyone know."

She frowned, but then shook her head and smiled, "You're right."

"Hermione, _darling,_ there you are!"

All of a sudden a lady with long red hair, green eyes, and a giant zebra purse to match her zebra shoes, was barreling towards us.

"Hello Miss. Hendricks." she said with a fond smile, hugging the older woman when she got closer.

"This is _fabulous._ You've outdone yourself this time, truly you have. It's better than I could have imagined!"

Granger smiled and said, "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without Kara and Geniene though."

Miss Hendricks waved her hand in the air, as if the matter was insignificant enough to be swatted away, and said, "I know you've done most of this, and it's wonderful. I love it."

Granger smiled again and said, "Well I'm glad you love it. That's what I was aiming for."

"Where's your artwork, dear?" she asked, her eyes scanning the room.

"Oh, it's around here somewhere." she said, waving her hand around the room. "If I see them I'll let you know."

She nodded and with a flourish I felt only she could do, she disappeared into a group of people.

"She's interesting."

She laughed and said, "You have no idea."

We walked around for a few minutes before she said, "Why don't you keep looking, and I'm going to find Geniene and Kara."

"Alright," I said, giving her a kiss before she walked away.

I continued around, looking at the various different paintings. They were all really good, and definitely unique. Granted, I didn't know much about art, but hey.

I turned a corner, and I froze, because I found that I was looking at myself.

_Holy fuck._

I walked up to it, because for a second I thought it was a picture, but when I looked closer I could see the brush strokes.

She was _really_ talented.

In the painting I was sitting on her bed, a book in my hand, but I was looking up with a smirk on my face, the sun coming in through the window behind me.

How had she managed to capture all this from memory? Because she'd certainly never drawn me when I was there.

I looked over to the next picture and what I saw made me smile. It was a painting of all of us - her, me, Pansy, Blaise, Potter, Weasley, Ginny, and Theo - all on the dock at Blaise's vacation house that we used to hang out at whenever we'd want to get away back in high school. The view of the sunset was amazing, and it's exactly what she painted.

"I see you found them."

I turned and saw Granger, a nervous look on her face.

I chuckled, "Yeah, it seems I have."

"I'm sorry. I should have told you that I painted you."

I smiled and took her hand, pulling her over to me, and said, "It's okay. You're really talented. I haven't seen any of your paintings in a while...I forgot how good you are."

She blushed and said, "Thanks. It helps to have handsome people to paint."

She kissed me softly and briefly before pulling back to say, "I'm really glad you came."

"I wouldn't have missed it."

She smiled and said, "Come on, I think Blaise and Theo just got here."

**HPOV**

I had been so nervous to bring Malfoy here, because I didn't know how he'd react to being the subject of one of my paintings. I mean sure, he was in the other one too, but we all were.

"Hey, Hermione. This place looks great." said Theo.

Blaise nodded, "Where are your paintings at?"

I pointed back towards where they were, and they headed off to go look at them.

"Oh, but you couldn't tell me?" he said, an amused smirk on his face.

I shrugged, "I wanted you to find them. If I told you where they were you would've been prepared."

He chuckled and wrapped his arm around my waist, and yet another reporter came up and took our picture.

"Well tomorrow should be interesting." I said, twirling a piece of hair around my finger.

He nodded slowly and said, "Yeah, but at least everyone will know."

"Is that what you want?"

He stopped walking and tilted my head so that I was looking into his molten silver eyes, "Of course that's what I want. I want everyone to know that you're taken. That you're _mine,_ Granger."

I had to remind myself to breathe, because the look in his eyes seemed to suck all the air out of my lungs.

_Breathe._

"Really?" I asked, my voice softer than I meant for it to be.

"Yeah, really." he said with a smirk, sliding his hand into my hair and pressing the softest of barely-there kisses to my lips.

"I can't wait to get you home." he whispered in my ear, his voice sultry and enticing and I really just wanted to drop everything and leave with him - but Ginny and the rest of our friends hadn't shown up yet, and I couldn't exactly leave without seeing them.

Before I could think of a response Blaise and Theo were back, "Hermione, you have got some _talent."_

"Thanks Theo."

Blaise nodded, "How you even remembered exactly what the dock looked like is beyond me. We haven't been there in years."

I chuckled, "I don't know. I guess it was just a big part of growing up around you guys. I thought it was cool."

It had been no secret that Ginny, Ron, and I had been less wealthy than Theo, Pansy, Blaise, and Harry, but none of us had been tight for money or anything.

Our parents just didn't own estates by beaches. Or in Italy. Or America.

"Well it looks awesome."

I smiled and just then Ginny, Harry, and Pansy walked in.

Malfoy had told me what Pansy had said to him that night at the Halloween Ball, and while I appreciated what she said, and regardless of if I actually believed her or not, I didn't want to be friends with her.

It was also irritating that the only reason she was here was to see Malfoy at a gallery that _I_ set up. How lovely.

"Hey!" Ginny came over and hugged me, and Harry did the same after shaking Malfoy's hand.

Pansy trailed a bit further behind, her eyes wandering around the gallery before settling on Malfoy. I didn't particularly care for the look she was giving him. It was the I'm-secretly-undressing-you-with-my-eyes-while-your-girlfriend-stands-right-there face - and I didn't care for it at all.

So instead of bothering with her I focused my attention on Harry and Ginny.

"I'm glad you guys could make it."

Ginny smiled, "Enough with the small talk, you know what I want to see. Did you do it?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, they're both hanging back there."

She squealed and yanked Harry's hand, pulling him along after her, leaving me with Malfoy and Pansy - which was the last place I wanted to be.

They were talking, so I caught Malfoy's eye briefly and motioned that I was going to walk around.

I turned around before I could see his reaction, and picked my way through a few people to find either Blaise and Theo or Ginny and Harry.

I didn't make it too far before I felt a familiar hand on my arm, turning me around to face him.

"Where are you going?"

"Uh...to find Harry and Ginny...or Blaise and Theo I guess." I said with a shrug, my eyes still searching through the crowded space.

"Why?"

"Why?" I repeated, finally looking back at him.

"Yes, Granger. _Why?"_

"Because you and Pansy were talking. I didn't want to interrupt."

"You could have."

"That's rude."

"I don't care."

"I do."

He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and said, "You don't even like Pansy."

"That doesn't mean I have to be rude. You're her friend, and I accept that. But I'm not, and I don't want to be. So go talk to her." I said, pushing him with a small smile, "And then come find me when you're done."

Without giving him the chance to argue I ducked around one of the displays and merged into a group of people headed towards the back.

I finally spotted Blaise - Theo nowhere in sight.

"Where'd Theo go?"

He turned and smiled at me, "He saw a girl he wanted to talk to."

He motioned across the gallery to him and a tall brunette who worked in the office across the hall from mine.

"He's going to get lucky tonight. That's Mallory."

Blaise almost spit out his drink, and I laughed, "What? She doesn't make a secret about it."

He chuckled and shook his head, "Interesting. Anyone you can point me in the direction of?"

I rolled my eyes, "Maybe _after_ Malfoy and Pansy get done talking. I need someone to hang out with and I can't find Ginny or Harry."

He frowned and his eyes found Pansy and Malfoy talking on the other side of the room. As if he noticed someone was watching him, Malfoy looked up, but not at me, at Blaise.

Blaise shrugged and turned towards me, "They've been friends for a while, and I happen to know for a fact that Draco's crazy about you. I wouldn't let her bother you too much."

I sighed, "I just...I don't like her. I can't like her."

He was quiet for a while before he spoke up, "What did she say to you?"

I shook my head, "It doesn't matter."

I hadn't told anyone what she'd said to me, and I doubt I'd ever would. I understood that Pansy was different now, that she had changed, and as much as I didn't like her, I didn't want our friends to judge her for what she said years ago.

Blaise didn't push the issue, which I was grateful for, and said, "She's no competition, Hermione. Seriously. He's totally head over heels for you."

"How would you know?"

"He does talk to me." he said, chuckling.

I smiled, "Well I'm head over heels for him too."

"I know - hell, _everyone_ knew except you two." he said, laughing.

I grabbed a champagne flute from one of the waiters walking around and said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, so everyone keeps telling me."

Just then I saw Micah walking towards us. He looked amazing in his suit, and it reminded me of being back in high school at our prom.

"Hey," he said.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him, careful not to spill any champagne, and said, "Hey, I didn't know you were coming."

"Well I figured this was a good time to see if you had any talent." he said, an amused smile on his face.

I chuckled, "And?"

"And the set up is amazing. The pieces all work together really well and the atmosphere is perfect - but what I'm _really_ curious about are your paintings."

I smiled and pointed him off in the right direction, but before he left he said, "Do you want to get lunch tomorrow? We can talk over the job offer, run through everything, and then if you're up for it over the weekend we can fly to Paris and I'll show you the actual office, where you'd be working, what you'd be doing - sound good?"

Um...it sounded confusing, but totally exciting.

"Sounds perfect."

He smiled and headed off in the direction I'd pointed him in.

"I'd be careful with him." said Blaise, looking down at me.

"What? Why? It's just Micah."

"Yeah, but he likes you, Hermione. And here comes Draco..." he trailed off, quickly dropping the subject.

I looked up, and sure enough there he was. Two long strides later and he was standing in front of me.

"What did Micah want?"

"Lunch tomorrow to talk about the job offer."

His mood was significantly worse, maybe because he saw whatever it was that Blaise apparently saw, but regardless I felt like it was a bad idea to tell him I'd be going to Paris for the weekend.

"So you're going to take it?" he asked, his voice actually sounded a little hurt.

"I don't know. I'm thinking about it. I mean can you imagine what a great opportunity that would be for me?"

He seemed to be having an inner conflict with himself, before he nodded, "Yeah, you're right. It's a great opportunity, and you should take it."

I rolled my eyes, "I don't know what I'm doing yet, and whatever I do decide, I'm going to think about it."

He nodded, still clearly not pleased - not that I blamed him. How would I feel if he just up and left to Paris?

"You're important to me." I said softly, "You're the _most_ important person in my life. That means something to me."

He finally looked at me and smiled, pulling me into a hug, his chin resting on the top of my head.

"You're important to me too."

I smiled, my arms winding around his waist, "Good, so don't be mad at me."

I felt him sigh and his arms tightened around me before he said, "I'm not mad at you, I just...I...nevermind. I'm not mad at you."

I leaned back far enough to look up at him and said, "Don't do that. Don't shut me out. Talk to me."

He shook his head, "I'm not mad."

"But?" I pressed.

"But nothing, Granger. For fucks sake, just drop it." he snapped.

My eyes widened and I stepped out of his arms, "Fine."

"Granger, wait."

I didn't want to wait though, I wanted to leave.

"Hermione," he said, catching my arm as I went to get my coat, "I'm sorry."

"Just drop it." I snapped, turning towards the racks of coats in search of mine.

I heard him close the door before he turned back to me.

"I'm sorry. Let me try to explain."

"Oh, _now_ you want to talk to me? I'd rather not." I snapped, finding my coat.

He stepped forward and threw my coat back onto the rack before pinning me with his steely gaze.

"I don't know how to do this with you."

"Do _what_ with me? Not act like a complete arse because I ask you a question?"

**DPOV**

Here I was, fucking it up again.

I didn't mean to snap at her, I just didn't want to admit what I was feeling. I didn't know _how_ to admit what I was feeling.

I wasn't good at talking, not even to Granger.

"I don't know how to talk to you about -"

"Oh shut the hell up." she snapped, crossing her arms in front of her chest, "Just because you can't express yourself doesn't mean you get to act like a complete -"

"I don't want you to leave." I said softly.

Her eyes widened, "Why?"

"Because I...I care about you, Granger. I've been around you most of my life. Do you know how fucking weird it would be to not have you around anymore?"

For a moment she didn't say anything, but then she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me.

"You know I love you." she said, pulling away to look up at me, her beautiful brown eyes sparkling. "I would never leave if you didn't want me to."

I rolled my eyes, "I love you too, and that's why I don't want you to give up a great opportunity for me."

"And I don't want to give _you_ up." she said softly.

I pulled her close again, and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "We'll figure it out."

At least I hoped we would.

* * *

**Alright, another chapter.**

**And before any of you read too much into it, Draco and Hermione do love each other, and when Hermione says it she means it like she's always meant it. It's a different kind of love, a best friend love, if you will.**

**So review, tell me what you think. Is Hermione going to take the job offer? Is Draco going to flip when he finds out she's going to Paris with him for the weekend? And what exactly is Pansy's game?**

**With Ginny and Harry's wedding approaching on the horizon, it's only a matter of time before some serious drama unfolds.**

**Stick around to find out.**


	10. Chapter 10

**This is going to be like the longest A/N ever, so you can skip it if you want, but maybe some of you would like to read it, because I answer a few questions/ give my opinions on some things.**

**Okay, I wanted to explain what Hermione's thinking, because one reviewer (_Chester99_) had some good points, but I want to clarify, because I don't exactly agree with everything.**

**"I don't understand why Hermione keeps trying to push Draco and Pansy together. They don't really sound like friends, more like used to be friends who have become more like acquaintances. Honestly, she really needs to ask Draco if he even wants to spend time with Pansy because it doesn't sound like he does. Hermione needs to watch it with the signals that she's sending Micah. She didn't hug any of the other guys but she'll hug him? I do agree that Hermione going to Paris alone with Micah is a really, REALLY bad idea. Draco has every right to flip out over it. I hope Hermione pulls her head out of her butt soon. It's interesting that she's complaining about Draco's refusal to talk when she's doing the exact same thing, hypocrite!"**

**Okay, Hermione's not exactly trying to push Draco and Pansy together. She's trying to give him the space that she thinks he wants, because he and Pansy were friends - are friends. Draco's relationship with Pansy is complicated. He likes her (as a friend) but he doesn't like that Hermione has a problem with her. She doesn't ask Draco if he wants to spend time with Pansy because she knows Draco. He's been friends with Pansy for a long time, and even though it's a rocky relationship, he does still care for her. He wouldn't have been talking to her if he didn't.**

**That being said, Hermione will always come first for him, that's why he has no problem leaving Pansy to talk to Hermione or ask what's going on with Micah. She's his best friend/ girlfriend now, and that will always be more important to him.**

**As far as Hermione goes with sending "signals" to Micah, I can't say that I agree. You're a little off by saying that she doesn't hug any of the other guys. She doesn't hug Theo or Blaise because she's never been as close with them, but she does hug Harry when he arrives, and she hugs Micah because they have a history. They had a good relationship, and they were good friends before and after their breakup. Nothing bad happened that made them stop talking, they just fell out of touch. I don't see what signals she's sending him (aside from that first night at the club when she'd been drinking and she and Draco weren't yet dating) that she would need to be careful about, but that's just me.**

**I do agree that Draco has a right to flip out over Hermione going with Micah, but he should also trust her. Relationships work both ways. You have to trust each other, and if Hermione's okay with Draco's ex (to an extent), Draco should be okay with hers. That being said, jealousy is a normal thing, so I don't blame Draco for being jealous. He's allowed lol.**

**I'm not exactly sure about her being a hypocrite with the whole talking thing. He shut her out (because he's Draco) and she didn't want to deal with it. You can't tell me that you've never been childish in a fight and done something similar, I know I have. That's just how relationships work. They're difficult and people get jealous and act childish and say stupid things, but at the end of the day it's a two way street, and it can't all be on Hermione.**

**Okay! After that extremely long A/N, I hope I answered questions, because I'm sure more than just this one reviewer had them, and even if you don't agree, you at least see my POV on things. (:**

* * *

**HPOV**

Okay, I felt guilty.

I needed to tell Malfoy about going to Paris, but honestly after what we'd talked about I didn't even know that I wanted to go anymore.

I wanted to work there, it would have been an amazing opportunity, but I wasn't sure that I was willing to give up everything here and just pick up and leave.

Then again, how long was I going to base decisions on what other people were doing? At one point or another we were all going to have to move on to bigger and better things.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and grabbed my jacket. I was meeting with Micah today to talk about the job, and maybe then I'd figure out if I wanted to go to Paris.

God, who was I kidding, _of course_ I wanted to go to Paris. I guess the question was whether or not I wanted to face Malfoy's icy glare for it.

He was at work today, surprisingly enough, so I left a note for him on the counter telling him where I'd gone.

When I got to the restaurant I spotted Micah immediately and made my way over to him.

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm good, sorry I'm late." I said, taking a seat.

He had a few papers in front of him, which he proceeded to slide across the small table to me.

"Don't worry about it. Those are just the outlines of what jobs we have available. I highlighted two of the ones I think you'd be best suited for given what I saw at the gallery last night."

I nodded and looked over the list.

_Art Director: Develop design concepts and review material. In charge of deciding on the best way to present the material so it is visually pleasing and eye catching._

_Senior Graphic Designer: Plan, analyze, and develop visual solutions to communications problems, and find the most effective way to get messages across._

I looked back up at him and smirked, "And these positions are both open? Seems like kind of an important job to fill."

He shrugged, "They are important, that's why I need to find someone who's good. Which one do you think sounds more like you?"

I looked back down at the paper for a second, and then said, "Art director."

He smiled, "I kinda figured. Well the hourly pay is sixty-two pounds, and the annual salary is -"

_"What?"_

Sixty...holy hell that was_ a lot_ more than what I made now.

"Is that bad? We can always negotiate a little on -"

"Are you insane? Do you know how much I make now? God, this job just keeps getting better and better."

He chuckled and said, "Well good. Not that I'm trying to bribe you or anything."

I laughed and he continued.

"Annual salary is one thousand nine hundred pounds, and we cover everything."

_Oh. My. God._

If I took this job I wouldn't have to worry about money. At all.

This was _huge._

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Micah?"

He chuckled, "We take care of our employees."

I ran a hand through my hair and sat back in the chair. I would be insane not to take this trip with him to see this place, right?

I mean this would be huge for me. I could finally stop relying on people. I could finally stop worrying about how I was going to make ends meet.

"So are we still on for Paris?"

I bit my lip. I knew Draco would be pissed, but I, hopefully, had a solution for that.

"Yes, but I was wondering..."

* * *

**DPOV**

"Do you have a second?"

I looked up from the page in the book I'd been staring at for the past twenty minutes and said, "Yeah, sure."

I'd read her note when I'd gotten home, and it's not that I _wanted_ to act like an arse, but I couldn't help it. Micah was a good guy - hell, he was a better guy than I was - and I didn't exactly want her to figure that out.

Not that I'd ever say that to her.

"Well we talked about some jobs that were available, and I picked the one that I thought matched me best." she said, handing me a piece of paper.

"Art director?"

I looked up at her, and her smile was infectious, "Well this definitely sounds like you."

She nodded and sat down next to me, dropping her purse onto the coffee table, "They're going to pay me sixty-two pounds an hour."

I smiled, "That's great."

She nodded, "He asked me if I wanted to go to Paris this weekend to see the -"

"Are you kidding me?" I interrupted.

"Just listen -"

"No, are you _fucking kidding me?_ You're going to fly to Paris with this guy who, obvious to everyone but you, wants to get in your pants? Do you really expect me to be okay with this?"

"This is a huge opportunity! I don't think you get what this would mean for me. I wouldn't have to worry about being able to pay rent anymore. I wouldn't have to worry about money period -"

"You don't have to worry about it now. I told you I'd fucking take care of you, Granger." I snapped.

"How do you think that makes me feel? That you have to constantly cover for me. Your parents -"

"Who gives a fuck about my parents, I -"

"I give a fuck!" she yelled, "_I do_. Because how they look at me is exactly how I'd look at some broke girl staying with my rich son -"

"Our relationship isn't their business."

"Don't you get that I want to be able to take care of myself? Why is that so hard to understand?"

"Because I can take care of you, Granger. I _want_ to take care of you."

"And what happens when one day you don't want to anymore?" she asked, her voice barely loud enough for me to hear.

"What?" I asked, sitting back down next to her.

"What if...what if one day you realize that you could do better and -"

"Shut the fuck up." I said, sliding my hand into her hair and pulling her forward to kiss me. "I couldn't do better than you, Hermione. And I don't want to."

"But I'm not -"

"That doesn't matter to me. I like being able to take care of you."

She closed her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Please don't cry." I said, wiping it away.

"I just...you can be such an arse sometimes, but then you say things like that..." she shook her head and pulled me into a hug, her face nuzzled against my neck as she pressed a few soft kisses there.

"I care about you, Granger. I just don't feel comfortable with you going..."

I heard her sigh and she pulled back to look at me.

"I know that, and had you given me two seconds to fully explain, I could have told you that I wanted you to come with me."

The smug smile on her face was enough to make me feel like a complete fucking prick, but I couldn't even apologize because I was too happy that she wasn't going alone.

I yanked her forward, or lips inches apart, and said, "Thank you."

She smiled, "You're welcome."

I closed the space between our lips and proceeded to shag my beautiful girlfriend on our couch.

* * *

**HPOV**

"I can't believe the wedding is in less than a month."

Ginny was bouncing up and down while the seamstress was hemming my dress, and I couldn't help but shoot her a look.

"Everything will be fine. Now sit down. You're giving me motion sickness just looking at you." I said, chuckling at her nervousness.

She pouted but did what I asked, watching carefully as the seamstress added the finishing touches on my bridesmaids dress.

It was actually a really flattering dress - or I hoped it would be once it fit correctly. It was a light pastel blue made of flowy chiffon that swept the floor and cinched at the waist with a baby pink ribbon.

"You'll look amazing." said Ginny.

"Never amazing enough to upstage the bride." I said with a smile.

"Now that you and Draco are dating, maybe you'll tie the knot too!"

And there she went again, off into her crazy little fantasy world.

"Gin, we just started dating."

"So? I mean can't you picture yourself spending the rest of your life with him?" she asked, staring up at me from her spot on the couch.

"Well yeah, but he's my best friend. He's always been around, so why wouldn't I be able to picture him _staying_ around?"

"He's not your best friend, Mione, he's your boyfriend."

I sighed, but let it go. I didn't think that just because he was my boyfriend he was all of a sudden not my best friend anymore. I mean weren't couples supposed to be good friends?

I made a mental note to ask Malfoy what he thought later.

"So have you finally convinced Harry into having kids?"

She smirked, "Well of course I have. He wants me to be happy, and I think he's secretly excited about the idea of kids too, because I caught him looking through some of those old pregnancy books my mom left for us."

I smiled, "Well I like the idea of little Potter's running around - god this is crazy. You're going to be Ginny _Potter_ now."

Her eyes widened, as if she just now thought of that fact, and said, "Oh...yeah...I guess Ginny Weasley's only going to be around for a few more weeks."

"Are you okay with that?"

She looked puzzled for a second, before she was smiling again, "Of course. I love Harry, and I can't wait to marry him. Last name and all."

I smiled back at her, genuinely happy for her.

When the seamstress was finished with my dress I looked at it in the mirror and I couldn't help but admit that it looked gorgeous, just as Ginny said it would.

"Do you like it?" she asked, a hopeful look on her face.

"I love it."

Somehow the dress made my 5'2 form seem taller - which was quite the feat - and I didn't even have heels on yet!

I changed out of the dress and shrugged my jacket on. I was more than ready to go home, take a nice bath, and go to sleep.

"Will you come with me?"

"Where?"

"To Malkin's Dress Boutique. I want to try the dress on one more time, just to make sure everything looks perfect." she said, standing up and walking to the door with me.

I nodded, "Of course, what time?"

"Around one."

"I'll see you there." I said, giving her a quick hug, and then hurrying out to the cab parked out front. I would have caught the bus, but it was entirely too cold outside to stand out there and wait.

When I got back to the flat Malfoy was sitting on the couch, a glass of Whiskey in his hand.

He looked up when I came in and smiled, setting his drink down on the table before standing up and walking over to me.

"Hey, how'd the dress fitting go?"

"Good, the dress fits perfectly now."

"Even on your tiny little frame?" he asked, a smirk on his face as his hands found my waist.

I stuck my tongue out at him and said, "I'm not that little."

"Love, you're pretty tiny."

I smacked his chest and tried to step out of his arms, even as my stomach erupted into butterflies at the term of endearment, but he chuckled and said, "Don't be mad. I think it's fucking adorable."

I smiled and he tugged me against him before sliding one hand into my hair to pull me into a kiss. His lips were soft against mine, and it didn't take long for the kiss to turn demanding - and I loved that.

I tangled my hands in his hair and pulled him impossibly closer, enjoying the fact that he groaned and slid his hands under my shirt, tugging it off.

I did the same to his while he trailed heated kisses down my neck, nipping my pulse point along the way.

"Here?" he asked, his voice unbelievably sexy as he pushed me against the nearest wall.

I groaned, but didn't say anything, too caught up in the way his lips felt against my breasts - when had he taken my bra off?

"Granger," he said, pulling away to look up at me with a smirk.

"Malfoy," I groaned, yanking his hair so his lips crashed against mine. I didn't want to talk. Not right now.

He groaned and before I knew it, he had my jeans and panties around my ankles. I stepped out of them, kicking them across the hardwood floor of the living room.

He moved his fingers along my clit and I couldn't help the moan that escaped my already parted lips.

I felt his smirk against my neck, and before I could say anything he pulled my right leg up around his hip and slid one long, skilled finger inside my wet heat.

"Oh god."

He chuckled softly and pumped his finger in and out slowly, turning me on more and more - and I really just wanted him to fuck me.

He added a second finger and curved them up, hitting my g-spot and causing my knees to buckle. He chuckled, shifting so he was supporting my weight against the wall, his free hand on my waist as his lips still trailed up and down my neck.

I managed to shove his pants from his hips, and as soon as they hit the ground he kicked them off, and I took him into my hand.

"Fuck," he mumbled against my neck, biting my shoulder before speeding up the pace of his fingers.

A long moan escaped my lips as I dropped my head back against the wall and managed to say, "Oh fuck, fuck, _fuck_ - Malfoy -"

I gasped and my whole body shook as I came. Somehow I'd managed to clutch his shoulders and not fall to the floor - which would have been completely acceptable because he was just _that_ good.

"Malfoy, please."

"Do you know how fucking hot you look right now?"

* * *

**DPOV**

I'd seen Granger come plenty of times, but it never got old. She looked..._wow._

And now, leaning against the wall, her lips swollen, her cheeks pink, her hair a wild mess around her face - she looked incredible and I just wanted to bury myself inside her.

I heard her breath catch and she stammered, "I - well - I mean -"

"Granger," I said, a smirk on my face, "Do you want me to fuck you now?"

She groaned and bit her lip before nodding.

"Say it."

"Malfoy," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Say it, Granger." I said, unable to hide the smirk on my face.

She narrowed her eyes at me, and I knew I'd have to get creative if I wanted to hear her say it. She never really liked to talk, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve.

I slid three fingers inside her soaked pussy and she dug her nails into my shoulders as I began pumping them in and out of her, hitting the perfect spot inside her.

As soon as I felt her walls start to flutter I pulled out and she groaned, "Malfoy,"

"Tell me."

"No," she said, glaring at me - well as much glaring as she could do while panting against the wall.

I shrugged, "Suit yourself."

I slid three fingers inside her again, repeating what I'd done before, and as soon as she was about to come, I pulled them out again.

"_Malfoy_!"

"Say it," I said, trying to restrain myself, because _holy fuck_ I wanted her _badly._

"For the love of - fuck me, Malfoy. Before I lose my mind."

I smirked and she wrapped her legs around me, and then I slammed into her, not wasting any time.

"Oh god, _Malfoy_ -" she came again, her pussy clamping around my dick, and I groaned at the feeling, burying my face in her neck while I continued my fast pace.

Being inside her was better than any other feeling. She was just fucking perfect.

"Fuck," I panted, catching her lips in a fierce kiss.

I slid a hand down to her clit, rubbing in quick circles, and a few seconds later she was clamping around me again, but this time I came with her.

I slowly set her back down on her feet, sliding my hands into her hair and kissing her softly. I definitely hadn't had enough of her yet, so I got an idea.

"Let's take a bath." I murmured against her lips.

"Okay," she said, her eyes curious.

I took her hand and led her into the bathroom, filling up the bathtub.

"Come on." I said, taking her hand when it had filled.

I stepped in and then she moved in front of me, sitting between my legs.

The water was warm, and she felt amazing, so it didn't take long for me to get hard - again.

I reached over and squirted some body wash into my hands, rubbing them together before sliding my hands over her stomach and up to her breasts.

She sighed and leaned her head back against my chest, her hands on my thighs while I massaged her breasts and tweaked her nipples.

She shifted, her arse rubbing against my dick, and I clenched my teeth. Fuck I wanted her, and it'd been less than fifteen minutes since I'd last had her.

I pressed a few light kisses to her exposed neck and shoulder, enjoying the soft sighs that escaped her parted lips.

This was different than earlier. This was slow. Exploring.

I slowly slid one hand from her breast and moved it down, lightly stroking her clit.

She let out a soft moan, and I nuzzled my face against her neck as her hands stroked my thighs.

I moved my legs so that my ankles were on the inside of hers, pushing her legs open and keeping them open.

I heard her breath catch, and I kissed behind her ear before I whispered, "Just relax, I know just how to touch you, Love."

She moaned softly at my words, but relaxed back into me.

I continued stroking her clit, but with a little more pressure, which caused her to attempt to close her legs, but I kept them right where they were, making her feel everything.

"Malfoy," she moaned softly.

"Shh, I know." I said, trailing my lips back up her neck while massaging her breast.

She started moving her hips - as much as she could with how we were sitting, which wasn't a lot - and her hands were moving up and down my thighs again.

I slowly slid a finger inside her and she tried to shift to alleviate some of the intensity, but I just moved the hand that was on her breast to her chin, tilting her face to kiss her.

It was slow, like everything else, and when she pulled away her breathing was deep and she had moved one of her hands over the wrist of the hand that was between her legs.

"Malfoy, please," she said, her voice soft, "It's too much, I -" she broke off when I changed the angle of my finger slightly.

I moved my other and to her clit, stroking her slowly while my other hand continued what it was doing.

"God, Malfoy, no - _oh!"_

I felt her starting to flutter around my finger, so I added another and curved them up, maintaining the same slow pace while my other hand kept a steady pressure on her clit.

"I - oh god - I -" she broke off with a loud moan, her head thrown back against my chest as her hips pushed against my hands and she came.

I hadn't expected her to come as hard as she did, but it made me smirk. I loved being able to get a reaction like that from her.

She was panting while I continued lightly stroking her clit, my other hand massaging her breast again and toying with her nipples.

She shuddered and said, "That was...that..."

I chuckled softly and said, "Yeah, I figured."

She turned her head, tangling one hand in my hair and pulling me into a kiss, before she murmured, "Move your legs."

I did, and she immediately turned around, straddling my waist.

Her eyes were focused on me while she slowly slid down onto my throbbing dick, gasping when I was all the way inside her.

I closed my eyes and moved my hands up and down her sides, to her clit, her breasts - everywhere - but the movements were still slow, and when she started to move on top of me, that was slow too.

I could feel every inch of her tight pussy as she moved up and down, and fuck it was amazing.

I slid a hand into her hair and pulled her lips down to mine, kissing her slowly before murmuring, "You feel _so_ good, Hermione."

Her breath caught and I felt her walls flutter around me, and I knew I wasn't going to last much longer.

"You're so tight." I whispered, trailing my nose along her jaw.

She moaned softly, biting my shoulder as she came undone above me.

I wasn't far behind, my hands tightening on her waist as I came inside her.

She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and rested her face against the crook of my neck, her cool breath fanning against my chest, while I wrapped my arms around her. I enjoyed the feel of still being inside her, her chest pressed against mine, no space between us.

"That was amazing." she said softly.

I smirked, "I know."

I could feel her rolling her eyes, and she said, "So confident."

"With reactions like yours, I have reason to be."

She leaned back to look at me and smiled, "That you do."

* * *

**Okay, so I obviously got carried away with the lemon and that's why this chapter was a lot longer than the other ones...oops. (:**

**Review (:**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, I was definitely in a Christmas mood, that's why this didn't get updated until now...apologies all around lol. *shrugs* You guys know how it is with me.**

**Review (: **

* * *

**DPOV**

"Nice to see you again, Micah."

He nodded at me, clearly not pleased, which made my smirk widen as I tightened my arm around Granger's waist.

"We're ready then?" he asked.

Which was a bloody stupid question to be asking since we were currently walking across the tarmac to his fucking jet.

Which I was pretty sure he was only using to impress Granger - which was stupid since she hated flying.

She nodded, taking in the giant black jet with wide eyes.

I pulled her closer to me and kissed the top of her head before whispering, "You'll be fine, Granger. I promise."

She smiled and relaxed slightly.

As soon as we actually got onto the jet, though, her nerves were back full force.

"You guys can take a seat, I'm going to go check that we're all good with the pilot." said Micah, disappearing from view.

We sat down and I pulled her closer to me, attempting to find something I could say to make her feel better.

She'd been afraid of heights since I'd known her. I mean it had taken me _months_ to convince her to get on a rollercoaster with me - and even then I'd had to do everything but _drag_ her there.

"Maybe this was a stupid idea."

I chuckled and rubbed a hand up and down her arm, "It was a great idea. You're going to be fine, Granger. I promise."

"You can't promise that!" she said, her voice getting higher - like it usually did when she was freaking out.

"Yes," I said, turning her face to look at me, "I can."

Before she could protest I leaned down and kissed her, which seemed to take her mind off things for a moment.

"You're too good at that." she whispered against my lips, and I smirked.

"I don't see you complaining."

She chuckled and was about to say something when Micah walked back over to us.

She shifted slightly away from me, a blush tinting her cheeks, and it irritated me - because she was _my_ girlfriend, and if I wanted to kiss _my_ girlfriend, I bloody well would.

I slid my hand into her hair and pulled her over to me again, kissing her soundly before letting her go, a satisfied smirk on my face.

She glared at me, but it was half-hearted and we both knew it.

"Alright, well we're going to be landing at the tarmac twenty minutes from the actual gallery, so we'll drive there."

Granger nodded and asked, "How big is this place?"

He chuckled and buckled his seatbelt, indicating that we do the same, before he said, "We're fairly big, since it's our main base of operations. The other smaller branches don't house as many people, but they're not _small_ by any means."

She nodded and said, "Wow, you really weren't kidding back in high school when you said you were going to run your own business."

He smiled and shrugged, choosing not to comment on it.

"Anyway, I know a big concern of yours is friends, and if you move here it'd be harder for you to see them, but we have plenty of funds to ensure that our employees can make trips home fairly often."

My eyes widened at this news, because I highly doubted he made that much money that he could afford to fly everyone where they wanted to go. Which meant that he was giving her special treatment.

Which irritated me.

Though it shouldn't, because it meant I'd get to see her more.

I suppressed a groan, instead running a hand through my hair, while I listened.

"Really? Well...that's something to think about." she said softly.

I really needed to talk to her about this job, because if she really wanted it - and I was pretty sure she did - I wasn't going to stand in her way, and I wasn't going to be the reason she didn't take it.

She was _amazing_ at what she did, and this job was perfect for her, so if she passed up this opportunity because of me...she may have been my girlfriend now, but she was my best friend first, and that's why I wouldn't let her choose me over this job.

Which sucked.

Since when did I get so soft?

Then again, I suppose I'd always had a soft side when it came to her.

I sighed and slid my arm around her waist, surprised when she leaned into me, resting her head on my shoulder.

We sat in relative silence for the rest of the trip, Micah constantly on his phone making phone call after phone call regarding his business, and us just sitting, seemingly caught in our own worlds.

**~OoOoOoOoOoOoO~**

"So what do you think?"

We'd spent the past hour and a half walking through the gallery and having Micah explain every last little detail about what Granger would be doing.

"I think it's amazing." she said with a smile.

Micah returned the smile and said, "I know you'll need some time to think about it, but I can only hold the position for two weeks before I'll need someone to fill it."

Granger's eyes widened, but she nodded, "Of course, I understand."

"Well, are you all staying here for the weekend, or should I have Brian fly you back today?"

"Uh..."

I chuckled, "We're staying for the weekend."

"We are?"

I nodded, and then, low enough that Micah couldn't hear me, said, "I plan on having some fun with you."

A blush rose to her cheeks and I smirked, enjoying her slight embarrassment.

"Well I'll leave you both to your weekend, and I hope I hear from you soon, Mione."

I tried not to scowl at his use of the nickname they'd all given her a few years ago, but I'm pretty sure I did anyway.

He was walking away, but before he made it out the glass doors he turned around, "Oh, and Ron wanted me to tell you to call him. He said that he wants to talk."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he said he tried to call you, but you never answered."

Granger sighed but said, "Yeah. Well thanks, Micah."

He nodded and disappeared, finally leaving me to my girlfriend.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I might call him back, but honestly I don't want to talk to -"

"I meant about the job, Granger." I said with a smirk, "I could care less what you decide to do about the Weasel - though you know that you'll end up friends soon enough."

She glared at me, "What makes you say that?"

"Because you guys always fight, and then make up again."

"Yeah, but he's never accused me of something so stupid before." she said, following me as I pulled her out onto the street.

I'd made reservations at one of the hotels in Paris, and I was planning on treating her - and hopefully she'd let me.

I'd brought her gift with me, and maybe if I stopped being such a pussy, I'd actually give it to her.

"Well I can't really blame him. Everyone thought I was hot." I said with a smirk.

"Shut up, Malfoy. You and I both know that -"

"We were just friends. Yeah, I know, Granger, but apparently he didn't. Still, is that really something to stay this mad at him over. Maybe he's been calling and texting you to apologize."

She raised an eyebrow at me as I slid my arm around her waist, "Since when do you want me and Ron to be friends."

"I _personally_ don't want you to be friends, but I know that you guys were close - even if your relationship was rocky - and he means a lot to you. I want you to be happy."

At that she smiled and said, "When did you get so sweet?"

"Shut up." I said, chuckling while I steered her into the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel George V Paris.

Her eyes widened as she took in the brightly lit lobby - all white marble floors and high ceilings - it screamed expensive.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, her eyes still taking everything in.

I took her hand, leading her over to the front desk to check in, "We're here to check in. Draco Malfoy."

The girl behind the counter, probably around our age, quickly typed in the name and said, "Oh...yes, um, the penthouse?"

I chuckled, "Yeah, that's right."

Her eyes widened and Granger's eyes immediately narrowed, "How much is this costing you?"

There was no way in hell I was telling her I was spending roughly fifteen thousand pounds a night for that penthouse.

I'd stayed here before when my father and I had come to Paris for business meetings, so I wasn't worried about the price - though Granger clearly was.

"Don't worry about it. I want you to have fun."

"I'd have more fun if I didn't feel like you were going bankrupt to afford this visit." she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

I chuckled, "Granger, I'm not going bankrupt. My father and I have stayed here before."

She seemed to relax slightly, and I took that as my opportunity to take the key from the lady behind the desk.

"Thank you."

She smiled and said, "Enjoy your stay."

I nodded and led Granger over to the elevator. Once we were inside and the doors were closed she said, "You know I don't like this."

"Please, Granger, let me do this. I want to do nice things for you, because I like nice things too, and you deserve to be spoiled." I said, pulling her into my arms.

She sighed, resting her head on my chest, and said, "It's just a lot, Malfoy."

"And you haven't even seen the penthouse yet."

She groaned and pushed away from me, "We couldn't have just stayed in a _normal_ hotel?"

"Nope." I said with a smirk.

She sighed and the elevator doors opened to the eighth floor.

I knew I was going to catch hell for this when I unlocked the door, but I knew that if I could get her to see past how expensive everything was, that she'd have a great time.

It'd be hard for her not to, considering what I had planned.

Fingers crossed.

* * *

**HPOV**

I wanted to kill him.

The penthouse was like something out of a _dream._ I couldn't even imagine ever being able to afford something this extravagant.

And the view. Oh god, it was _amazing._

You could literally see the whole city, and the Eiffel Tower - it was stunning.

As far as the penthouse itself went...

I had no words. It was gorgeous, in a _painfully_ expensive kind of way. I mean the floors were _marble._

In the living room - if you could call this giant room that - there was Baccarat crystal glassware on the pedestal table, a bookcase with what looked like a lot of really antique books, extremely expensive looking furniture that I was a bit scared to sit on, and a private bar.

Malfoy walked over and picked up a remote, and from behind a black mirror came a plasma TV.

_Oh. My. God._

He clicked it on, maybe to get some noise here since I wasn't talking, and turned back to face me.

"Come on, let me show you the rest." he said, taking my hand.

I was literally too dumbstruck to protest, so I followed him.

He paused before we'd made it all the way out of the living room and pointed back towards a door on the opposite side, "The office is through there, in case you were curious."

I just nodded, my voice still gone, and when he pushed open the door to the bedroom, I knew it wasn't coming back anytime soon.

The first thing I noticed was the four poster king sized bed and the terrace across from it.

The walls were gold-toned, and the carpet looked soft enough to sleep on, and the whole room seemed to be set up to be extremely peaceful.

The bedspread was a light pastel blue, the blinds were a cream color, and there were white orchids stationed around the room.

I looked across the bed and saw an obscured sliding glass door, probably to a bathroom that would give me a heart attack, and an archway next to the terrace that looked like a dressing room - that also had windows in it.

I could tell he was studying my face, but I was pretty sure if I opened my mouth I'd start drooling, and that wouldn't help my case later when I yelled at him for spending all this money.

He slid open the door, and I knew my first assumption about having a heart attack was well founded.

The bathroom was stunning.

Everything was beige marble - from the double sink, to the extra large walk in shower, to the giant bathtub that looked like something out of a movie - with jets. The bathtub had _jets._

_Oh. My. God._

"For fucks sake, Granger, say something." said Malfoy, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back against the sink.

I wanted to tell him not to do that, lest he damage something, but I figured he'd just chuckle and say something about how he could afford it.

It was moments like this that made me realize just how rich Malfoy _really_ was, and it was definitely shocking.

I mean this was...beyond words.

Speaking of words, I should probably find something to say.

"Wow."

He chuckled and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist, and said, "Is that a good wow, or a bad wow?"

"Um," I shook my head, trying to figure out what I was feeling, "I don't know, honestly."

He smiled and said, "Well how about we eat, and then you can tell me how you feel."

That seemed to snap me out of it and I pushed him away, "Food, so you can spend more money on me? Not happening."

"Granger, I _want_ to do this. I wouldn't do it if I couldn't afford it."

I shook my head and walked back out of the bathroom, past the bed that was definitely calling my name, and into the living room.

If I wasn't sure that they charged _a lot_ for the alcohol, I would've made myself a drink, because being slightly intoxicated might have made this a little easier to deal with.

Instead I opted for flopping down onto the couch and burying my head in a pillow. This was too much.

I liked nice things, and it was sweet that he did this, but oh my god - this must have cost a fortune.

"Granger," he said, sitting down next to me and rubbing my back, "I brought you here because I wanted to have fun with you. I wanted you to enjoy being away from London, and work, and idiot friends. I wanted it to just be us."

"You wanted to go broke." I mumbled into the pillow.

"Trust me, it would take a lot more than this little trip for me to go broke."

I sighed, but didn't say anything.

I knew he was telling the truth, but I didn't want him doing all this expensive stuff for me. It made me feel guilty.

All of a sudden I felt his hands moving over my back in sure strong motions, kneading my shoulders and working his way down.

I let out a soft sigh and said, "You don't play fair."

He chuckled and said, "Feels good though, right?"

I turned my head to the side and smiled, "You know it does."

He smirked and asked, "Do you want me to continue?"

I nodded slowly and his smirk widened.

He stood up and took my hand, leading me back into the bedroom.

I raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled, "We're going to do this my way. I had actually planned to do this later, but since you want to be difficult about accepting gifts from your boyfriend -"

"A _bracelet_ is a gift! A necklace, a _ring._ But a _penthouse_ in the most expensive hotel in Paris is not a gift!"

"Relax, Love." he said, chuckling while he pulled me to stand in front of the bed.

"How can you expect me to relax? You're spending _god only knows_ how much money, and I will _never_ be able to pay you back -"

"It's not about you paying me back." he said, his voice taking on that edge that I knew all too well. He was getting irritated. "It's about me being able to do something nice. So fucking deal with it, Granger, because it's not about to change."

Something about the way his voice was so rough, something about the way he looked at me, had me nodding agreement - at least for now.

He smirked and pulled me into a kiss, his tongue sliding into my mouth effortlessly, and dominating me in no time.

He pulled away slightly and slid his hands to the hem of my shirt, sliding it off me while saying, "Let's get this massage started."

I felt my heartbeat speed up at the sensual way he spoke, and I could only nod.

He chuckled and before I knew it all I had on were my light blue lace panties.

"Get on the bed, face down." he said, walking into the bathroom.

I did what he asked, and a few seconds later he was back.

I felt the bed dip as he sat down, and then moments later I felt his oiled hands sliding across my back.

I sighed in contentment and closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of his strong hands sliding over my skin.

He moved his hands down, sliding over my arse, and moving down to my legs, massaging my calves before working his way up to my thighs.

He moved closer and closer to where I suddenly wanted him - _badly_ - but never actually touched me.

Instead he shifted, slid his fingers into the waistband of my panties, and said, his voice soft, "Lift your hips, Granger."

I did as he asked and he slid them off me, tossing them somewhere on the floor, before his hands started massaging my bum.

I groaned at the feeling, pushing back against his hands when his thumbs teasingly brushed my pussy.

He chuckled, the sound a deep, sensual rumble, and said, "I don't know why we haven't done this before."

"Because you're a tease." I said, my voice softer than I thought it would be.

He chuckled again and smacked my arse, the sharp sting only seeming to add fuel to the fire that was already burning.

"Flip over."

I did what he asked, and noticed that he'd changed out of the clothes he'd been wearing, and was instead wearing a loose pair of basketball shorts.

"I'm guessing you had clothes sent here."

He smirked, "A Malfoy is always prepared."

I was going to say something else, but his hands found my breasts and I closed my eyes, all thoughts of talking far from my mind.

He massaged, teased, tweaked, and pinched my nipples until I thought I couldn't take it anymore.

He slid his hands down my stomach, and to my right leg, sliding his hands over my calves before moving up to massage my thigh.

I parted my legs slightly and he chuckled, but moved to massage the inside of my thigh, dangerously close to where I was pretty sure I was dripping for him - but of course he still didn't touch me. Instead he moved to my other leg, repeating the same process.

By this point I was panting, and more than ready for him to -

"Oh god."

He slid his thumb over my clit a few times before spreading my legs further and laying down on the bed.

I leaned up on my forearms to look down at him, and he had a sinfully seductive sparkle in his eyes as he brought his tongue out - I dropped my head back down onto the pillow and tried to control my breathing.

* * *

**DPOV**

I slid my hands along the inside of her thighs while my tongue flicked her clit.

She was panting and moaning above me, her hands tangled in my hair, and I knew I wanted to give her an orgasm before I was done.

I hadn't originally intended to take it this far with her, but I couldn't keep myself from teasing her. She was just so fucking stunning.

I slid two fingers of my right hand into her wet pussy, groaning at how tight she was, and started pumping them in and out while I kept licking her clit.

"Oh god, Malfoy." she moaned, her hips moving off the bed.

I knew she was close, so I groaned against her clit again, and seconds later she came.

I kissed my way up her oil-slick body and pulled her into a kiss.

She smiled and pushed my shorts down my legs before wrapping her legs around my waist.

She kissed me while I slowly slid into her, and I knew I didn't want to be anywhere but there.

No matter how stubborn this woman was, no matter how independent, no matter how against all this extravagant stuff she was, I still wanted her, and I knew she wanted me.

The rest would work itself out.

* * *

**Alright, I hope you guys liked this chapter, leave me a review. The next chapter will still be at the hotel, and maybe Draco will give her the present?**

**Who knows?**

**Oh wait..._I_ know...haha whoops.**

**Review lovelies. (:**


	12. Chapter 12

**I will say this now so that I don't offend anyone. I DON'T SPEAK FRENCH. It's an amazing language, and I wish I did, but I don't. Therefore I have to go off of what my friend tells me is right, so if it's wrong, don't freak out. It isn't really going to play a big part in this story, just something cute to add a little something to the chapter.**

**That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter (:**

**Review.**

* * *

**HPOV**

I woke up to the sunlight streaming in through the glass door of the terrace and Malfoy's warm arm wrapped around my waist, his hand resting on my stomach.

I felt his cool breath against the side of my neck, and it was hard to remember that I was still supposed to be annoyed by how lavish all this was.

He must have been awake because I felt him placing lazy kisses against my neck, and his arm tightened slightly around my waist.

"Good morning."

I sighed in contentment and said, "Good morning. How long have you been awake?"

He chuckled and said, "About thirty minutes."

I moved my hand over the one he had on my stomach and said, "You could've gotten up."

"I wanted to be here when you woke up to make sure you weren't mad at me." he said softly.

I sighed and said, "I'm not mad, I just wish you wouldn't try to spoil me."

"It's what I do, Love." he said, his lips brushing against the side of my neck, "It's what I like to do."

"I know."

I felt him smirk against my skin and he asked, "So are you still mad?"

"No," I said chuckling, "I'm not mad."

"Good." he said, sliding his hand from my stomach to between my legs.

I moaned softly and he chuckled, pushing his fingers against my clit harder.

"How do you feel about sex before breakfast?" he murmured against my ear.

I was about to respond when he slid one sinfully skilled finger inside me, and I groaned, my nails digging into his arm.

"I didn't catch your answer, Granger."

I could practically see the smirk on his face and forced myself to say, "It sounds like a bloody fabulous idea."

He chuckled and lifted my leg, his hand holding my thigh, before he slid into me.

I groaned at how deep he was with this position. I felt so full - god he was good.

"Keep your leg here." he said, moving it so it rested on his thigh.

I barely managed to nod, and he slid his fingers back to my clit while slowly rocking in and out of me.

I could feel the coil in my stomach getting tighter and tighter and I couldn't control the moans that were slipping past my lips.

"Let go." he grunted, his lips against my neck as his fingers worked faster.

"Oh god, Malfoy."

I felt myself clench around him and seconds later he came too, groaning against my shoulder.

We were quiet while our breathing returned to normal, but he stayed inside me, which was an interesting feeling, but I didn't want him to move just yet.

"What are we doing today?" I asked, while he trailed his hand up and down my stomach.

"Well if you won't bite my head off for it, I actually had dinner planned for us."

I could tell he was tense, waiting for my answer, so I sighed and said, "Alright, dinner. What do we do till then?"

"Hmm," he said, turning my face so he could kiss me.

His lips were soft and his tongue moved against mine effortlessly before he pulled away.

"We can explore Paris, if you want."

I smiled and pulled away from him so I could turn to face him completely.

"Really?"

He chuckled and nodded, "Yeah. They have tons of art galleries we can go to."

I smiled and kissed him threading my hands through his hair before saying, "That sounds like an amazing way to spend the day, but I didn't think you liked galleries."

He chuckled, "I like being where you are."

I smiled and he returned it shyly.

I knew he had something up his sleeve for later, but for now I'd enjoy the day and worry about that later.

* * *

**DPOV**

Waking up to Granger next to me was definitely one of the greatest feelings.

She was so soft and warm beside me - and holy fucking hell, sex in the morning was _incredible._

She was sliding on her shoes and I was sitting on the couch waiting for her.

I had plans to have the chef make his best meal and have it brought up by room service, and then I'd give her the gift.

I decided that I had to give it to her now - three weeks before Christmas - because I knew what I wanted to get her for Christmas and she'd flip out about two expensive gifts - not that she wouldn't still flip out anyway. I knew she would.

I shoved those thoughts aside and stood up, grabbing her coat and helping her into it, before sliding into my own.

"Are we walking?" she asked as she followed me to the elevator.

I chuckled, pulling her into my arms, and said, "No, it's a little cold for that. I got a rental."

She smiled and nestled herself against me.

She smelled of strawberries and vanilla - she'd smelled like that since I'd known her.

It was comforting to know that some things never changed.

When the elevator came to a stop I moved my arm to her waist, keeping her close, and led her outside to where the valet was.

I handed the boy the key and he scurried off.

"What kind of car is it?"

I smirked and shrugged, but she smacked my arm and said, "Tell me."

"It's a BMW."

"What year?"

"Twenty-thirteen."

"Oh my god."

I shrugged, "They didn't have many options."

She rolled her eyes, not believing me in the slightest, and said, "You're something else, you know that?"

"If I forget, I have you to remind me." I said, chuckling as she stuck her tongue out at me.

The valet pulled up with the black BMW and Granger's jaw almost hit the floor.

"Nice, right?"

She simply nodded and got in when I held the door open for her.

"Are you hungry? I know this really good bakery that makes the best croissants."

At that she smiled and said, "Do you remember when we almost burned down my parents kitchen trying to bake croissants?"

I laughed, "Yeah, your mom had to get the fire extinguisher and put my sleeve out."

"Oh god, I remember that!"

It was rare that we talked about anything to do with her parents, but she seemed to be in good spirits about them today.

I pulled up outside the little bakery and led her inside, the sweet smell of baked goods hitting me as soon as I opened the door.

"How'd you find this little place? Doesn't exactly look like some place Lucius would eat."

I chuckled, "It wasn't. I found it when he was being a royal git and I wanted to get away from him."

She nodded, sliding into the seat and said, "It smells amazing."

I nodded and the waitress came over with menus and to get our drinks.

After she left Granger asked, "Are you excited about taking over the business in January?"

Ha, that was one hell of a good question.

"In a way, yeah."

"What do you mean?"

"I just don't want to screw it up."

Her eyes widened and she placed her hand over mine, "Malfoy, you know you can do this. Don't let your dad, or _anyone_ make you feel like you can't."

I smiled. That was the Hermione Granger I knew all too well. Always looking out for me and making sure I didn't throw myself a pity party.

I squeezed her hand and said, "Thank you."

She smiled and leaned across the table, placing a light kiss to my lips, before sitting back in her seat.

Her hair fell around her shoulders in a mess of chocolate colored curls, her cheeks were tinted a light pink, and her eyes roamed over the menu in front of her while her teeth worried at her bottom lip - her perfectly full bottom lip that I wanted to -

I shook my head, chuckling to myself, and looked down at my own menu.

**~OoOoOoOoOoO~**

"Wow, this is beautiful."

I watched, transfixed by the look of awe on Granger's face, while she looked at a painting.

I didn't know a damn thing about art, and I didn't really care about it either, but just to see how excited she got about being at the Louvre made staring at one boring piece of artwork after another worth it.

"Yeah, it is." I said, my eyes fixed on her.

She turned to look at me, and when she noticed I meant her, she blushed, her cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink.

We continued walking for a few minutes before she said, "You speak French, right?"

I chuckled, "Oui,"

She rolled her eyes, but there was a slight tint to her cheeks again, "Don't speak French to me. You know I have no idea what you're saying."

I smirked and said, "Pourquoi êtes ce que tu rougis, chéri?"_ Why are you blushing, baby?_

"Malfoy, stop it." she said, her blush deepening.

"Pourquoi?" I asked, my smirk widening.

_"Why?_ What do you mean _why?_ Because I can't understand you. Now stop it." she said, her tone telling me she was lying about something.

I slid my hand around her waist and tugged her closer to me so I could whisper in her ear, "I think you know exactly what I'm saying, and I think it turns you on."

A soft moan escaped her lips and I chuckled, immediately knowing my assumption had been right.

"Comment avez-vous appris?"_ How did you learn?_

"Ginny and I spent our summer abroad in Cannes, remember?"

I chuckled, "Oui, chéri."

"Malfoy, seriously. Quit it." she said, attempting to move away from me.

I tightened my arm around her and said, "I can't wait to get you back to the hotel."

Her breath hitched and I was _incredibly_ thankful that I'd found out she liked when I spoke French, that would definitely come in handy tonight - and hopefully make her less likely to bite my head off when I gave her the gift.

"Malfoy," she said, looking up at me.

She wanted to say something else, but I couldn't resist tangling a hand into her hair and pulling her lips to mine.

Her lips parted easily and I slid my tongue inside her mouth, stroking against hers softly.

She moaned and slid her arms around my waist, deepening the kiss, and I really, _really_ wanted her.

Too bad we were in the middle of one of the busiest museums in Paris.

I pulled away from her and said, "I thought you wanted to look at the art, chéri?"

"Well you seem to make it rather difficult to concentrate." she whispered.

I chuckled and said, "Je suis désolé."_ I'm sorry._

"Liar," she said, taking my hand and tugging me out of the Louvre.

"Where are we going?"

"Back to the hotel." she said, shoving me towards the drivers side of the car.

I chuckled at my feisty girlfriend. I was definitely going to have some fun with her.

* * *

**HPOV**

Hearing Malfoy speak in French had to have been one of the biggest turn ons ever.

I didn't speak French, though Ginny and I had tried to learn it while we'd been in Cannes, but I did learn to understand the language - and it was a beautiful language.

Especially coming from Malfoy's mouth.

His sinfully perfect mouth.

He backed me into the penthouse, shoving my jacket off my shoulders before doing the same with his.

His hands found my waist as his mouth found mine, his tongue sliding into my mouth and muffling my moans.

I started unbuttoning his shirt, eager to feel his hard, toned muscles beneath my hands.

He seemed just as eager to touch me, because before I knew it my shirt was on the floor and his lips were trailing heated kisses down my neck to the exposed skin of my breasts.

I moaned and finally managed to push the shirt off his shoulders, sliding my hands along the hard planes of his chest, down to his abdomen.

His muscles contracted as I slid my hands lower, and I loved the deep groan that escaped his lips as I slid my hand over the bulge in his pants.

"Granger," he mumbled against my neck, his right hand unclasping my bra while his left worked the button on my jeans.

He took one nipple into his mouth, teasing the already sensitive flesh, while he pushed my pants down, leaving me in just my panties.

He slid one hand to my clit, and started massaging me through the already wet material of my lacy underwear.

I groaned and shoved his pants down as well, wasting no time sliding my hand inside his boxers and grasping his hard shaft.

He groaned, and the sound made my stomach clench.

I hadn't gone down on him in a while, and I suddenly wanted nothing more than to do just that. So without warning I dropped down onto my knees in front of him and pulled his boxers down, before taking him into my hand again and running my tongue along the underside of his shaft.

"Oh fuck," he groaned, his hand tangling in my hair.

I brought his incredibly hard member into my mouth, rested my left hand on his hip, and my right went to work the part of him that I couldn't take into my mouth.

He moaned, long and deep, and it only added to how turned on I was. I forgot how enjoyable it was to be able to have this much power over him - especially when he seemed to always have the upper hand over me.

I bobbed my head up and down, his throbbing member sliding in and out of my mouth easily, and I moved my left hand from his hip to play with his balls.

_"Fuck,"_ he hissed, his hand in my hair tightening as I focused my attention on his engorged head, flicking my tongue across the slit before bringing it into my mouth again and sucking hard.

"Granger, you're going to make me come." he grunted, trying to pull me up, but I slapped his hands away.

I couldn't even count the number of times he'd brought me to orgasm by going down on me, and it was _beyond_ time that I repaid the favor.

My mouth moved up and down his shaft while my right hand worked over what I couldn't, and my left hand fondled his balls lightly.

It only took a few more seconds before I felt him stiffen and then he came into my mouth with a deep, guttural moan.

He pulled me up, slamming his lips against mine in a fierce kiss while his hands pushed my now soaked panties from my legs.

I'd forgotten how _erotic_ going down on Malfoy was.

He slid a finger between my folds and moaned against my mouth before saying, "You're so _wet."_

"For you." I managed to reply, threading my hands into his hair.

He groaned again, sliding his finger against my clit. It didn't take long before I was moving against his hand and panting, but before he could make me come he pulled his hand away and I groaned.

He chuckled, "Come on. I want you to be laying down when I make you come."

My eyes widened, but I let him pull me into the bedroom and push me down onto the bed.

"You look bloody gorgeous." he murmured as his lips ghosted over my neck, across my breasts, down my stomach, and finally stopping between my thighs.

He spread my legs and looked up at me before sliding two of his long fingers inside my dripping heat.

I moaned and he smirked, his eyes trained on me when he said, "Vous êtes tellement serré chéri." _You're so tight baby._

I moaned, arching into his fingers at the dirty French words.

"Je veux que vous cum pour moi." he murmured, before bringing his tongue to my clit. _I want you to come for me._

"Oh god, Malfoy!" I moaned as I came.

I was panting when he kissed his way back up my body, and I was surprised to feel his erection against my core.

"Tu es belle, chéri." _You're beautiful, baby._

I smiled and pulled his lips to mine in a soft kiss while he slid into me. Instead of moving, like I expected him to, he stilled, his lips ghosting over my neck before moving back up to my mouth.

His weight rested on his forearms, but his fingers were tangled in my hair while his tongue stroked mine gently.

I felt so full with him inside me, and I wanted him to move - _needed_ him to move.

"Malfoy, please."

He smirked and started moving at a tortuously slow pace, slowly bringing me closer and closer to my release.

I slid my hands over his shoulders, up his back, and down his sides, before winding my arms around his neck.

We both came at the same time, my hands buried in his hair, his face buried in my neck.

I could definitely do this for the rest of my life, because my _god_ Malfoy was good.

* * *

**DPOV**

"I have something to give you."

We'd just finished dinner, and Granger had enjoyed it, but now came the real challenge.

Getting her to accept this damn gift.

She raised an eyebrow, "What?"

I stood up and retrieved the jewelry box, before sitting down and handing it to her.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head, "Malfoy, I can't -"

"Granger, please just open it."

She sighed and lifted the lid, and she raised an eyebrow as she lifted the silver charm bracelet to examine it.

When she realized what she was looking at her eyes widened and her gaze flicked over to me. I could see there were tears in her eyes, and I moved to kneel next to her.

"Do you like it?"

"Draco," she said, her voice soft, "I love it."

My heart constricted at hearing her use my first name, and I smiled, happy that I'd managed to give her a gift without her fussing over it.

Then again, it was probably because this meant a lot to her.

It looked like a simple charm bracelet, but it was so much more than that. Each charm on there represented something about her parents or about our friendship.

There was a tooth for her parent's dental business, a boat for the cruise they'd gone on in junior year, a paintbrush for her love of art, a cupcake for our love of anything sweet, a suitcase for all the traveling she wanted to do - and I hoped to be able to help her with, and one I'd added two days ago, the Eiffel Tower.

"I was worried you were going to bite my head off." I said, before she pulled my lips to hers.

She shook her head and said, "I could never be mad at you for this. You actually thought about what would mean something to me - and this means a lot. Really, it's perfect."

A tear slid down her cheek and I wiped it away, sliding my hand into her hair and pulling her lips back to mine.

After a few moments she pulled away and asked, "When did you get this?"

I'd been hoping she wouldn't ask me that question, because I didn't know how she'd react to knowing I'd had that gift for two months.

"Tell me." she said softly, her hand running through my hair.

"October, before the Halloween Ball."

Her eyes widened at my admission and she said, "We weren't dating then."

I shook my head, "No, we weren't."

She blinked a few times before a breathtaking smile took over her features and she pulled me into another kiss.

"I'm so lucky to have you." she murmured against my lips.

My heart constricted again and I kissed her harder, because _I_ was the lucky one.

"Come lay down with me?" she asked softly, her beautiful toffee eyes wide as she looked up at me.

I smiled and nodded, taking her hand as I stood up.

"Wait," she said, handing me the bracelet, "Can you put it on me?"

I nodded and fastened the clasp around her wrist, enjoying how it looked there.

"Come on." I said, pulling her into the bedroom.

Man, I _really_ didn't want to leave Paris.

* * *

**Review lovelies. (:**

**We're back to London for the next chapter. **


	13. Chapter 13

**I love all the nice comments you guys keep leaving me, and it really does make my day that you all enjoy reading something I've enjoyed writing. (: You guys rock (:**

**Okay, so this chapter we're back in London, but I doubt we've seen the last of Paris...but I'm getting ahead of myself.**

**Ginny and Harry's wedding is coming up in the next chapter, and with it a whole lot of drama, and some questions you might have get answered. Like what the heck happened to Fred? Harry's parents? Pansy? Micah?**

**Oh my...yeah...the wedding's going to be insane.**

**So for that to happen, though, I'm going to have to piss you guys off with this chapter...I apologize in advance, please don't kill me *puppy dog eyes***

**With that said, let's get started.**

* * *

**DPOV**

I hated being back in London.

Granger and I were both back at work, and we hadn't talked about the job offer - which she either had to accept or decline within the next ten days.

I was bloody nervous.

Potter and Ginny's wedding was coming up.

And Christmas was around the corner too.

And me taking over my father's business.

_Fuck me._

It seemed like everything was happening at once, and I just wanted five seconds to relax with Granger - but that didn't look like it was going to happen until after everything went down.

I was laying on my bed when I heard the front door open, letting me know she was home.

I figured I should bring up the job with her, because I needed to know what she was thinking...and if we were still going to keep dating if she did choose to leave.

With a sigh I pushed myself off the bed, but when I walked out I noticed the door to her room was closed.

I walked over, intent on knocking on the door, but I heard her talking on the phone.

I went to turn away, but something she said caught my attention.

_"...do it, but Malfoy doesn't deserve someone like that. And I feel so guilty for wanting it, you know?"_

Do what? What the fuck did she feel guilty about?

_"Of course he's going to be upset. I'd be pissed if he -"_

Silence while she listened to whatever the other person was saying, and then -

_"No, Micah's great, but this just isn't something I'd usually do, Ginny."_

Micah?

This had to be a joke, right? After she told me that they were just friends.

I shook my head, it was obvious what she and Ginny were talking about. Granger and Micah had a thing, and she felt guilty.

And here I was, worried about her feelings.

I snorted and walked away from her door.

Some best friend she was.

I was in the kitchen filling up my second glass of Whiskey when she walked out.

"Hey, Malfoy." she said with a smile, and for a second I was almost convinced that I must have heard her wrong, but really, how could I? It was obvious.

I ignored her, taking my drink into the living room.

"Are you okay?" she asked, following me.

"Just perfect." I snapped.

"Are you mad at me? What did I do?" she asked, her eyes wide.

I snorted, "I don't know, Granger. Why don't you ask Micah?"

"What? What does Micah have to do with -"

"Save it." I said, glaring at her, "I don't really want to hear it."

"Malfoy, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I heard you and Ginny talking. I'd hate for you to keep feeling guilty, so let me make it easy for you." I said standing up, "We're done."

Her eyes widened and she looked genuinely surprised, "What the hell do you think we were -"

"I fucking _asked you_ if you and Micah had a thing, and you fucking _told me_ that you guys were just friends, even after I told you he still had feelings for you. And then you turn around and do this."

"Do_ what_?" she yelled, her temper snapping.

I didn't want to talk to her anymore, because I felt like I was going to snap. It hadn't occurred to me how much I didn't want to lose her, until now. And it was too late.

"Forget it, Granger." I said, grabbing my jacket off the hook and slamming out the door.

Before I knew it I was standing in front of Blaise's flat.

When he let me in his eyes widened and he asked, "Bloody hell mate, what happened?"

"Granger and Micah."

Blaise raised an eyebrow and motioned for me to sit, and he did as well.

"What do you mean?"

"She cheated on me."

Saying the words out loud made everything real, and I closed my eyes, resting my face in my hands while I tried to collect my thoughts.

"Are you sure? I mean Granger seemed just as crazy about you as you are about her. Plus, it doesn't really seem like her style."

"Yeah, she said as much herself." I snapped.

"Did she tell you?"

"I overheard her and Ginny on the phone."

"Did you confront her?"

I glared at him and he shrugged.

"I'm just trying to make sure you aren't being stupid and jumping to conclusions. I know how you felt about Micah from the start - we all felt it in a way."

"I fucking _heard her_ on the phone, Blaise."

He sighed, "Fine. So what, you broke up with her?"

"Yeah."

"And then you left?"

"Yeah."

"And you didn't let her explain?"

"I didn't fucking need her to!" I yelled, running a hand through my hair.

"Whatever you say, mate. So are you going back or..."

I sighed, "Yeah...but not just yet."

Blaise nodded and stood up, grabbing two bottles of beer from his fridge and handing me one.

**~OoOoOoOoOoOoO~**

When I got back home the lights were out, so I flipped them on while I walked into the kitchen.

There was a note on the counter and I picked it up, my eyes scanning over Granger's handwriting.

_I can't believe you'd seriously think that I'd cheat on you, and with Micah no less. I thought you trusted me when I told you that we were just friends, but I guess not._

_That says a lot about what you think of me._

_I'll be staying with Ginny._

_- H_

I crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trash, what the hell did I care where she went?

Except that I did.

* * *

**HPOV**

It had been eight days since Malfoy had went off on me, and I still couldn't believe it.

How could he think I was cheating on him?

When I'd left to Ginny's I'd barely been able to explain what had happened because of how badly I'd been crying.

When I'd told her she said she'd call him and explain, but I'd told her not to. If he honestly thought that I could cheat on him, then he didn't know me at all.

And that's what hurt the most. He was supposed to be my _closest_ friend, and he didn't trust me.

The stupidest part was that Ginny and I had been talking about the job.

_"So what do you think about the job?" asked Ginny._

_"I want to do it, but Malfoy doesn't deserve someone like that. And I feel so guilty for wanting it, you know?"_

_"I mean do you think he's going to be upset if you take it?"_

_"Of course he's going to be upset. I'd be pissed if he -"_

_"He should be happy for you. This is something you've always wanted to do...but are you sure you're not hesitant because of Micah?"_

_"No, Micah's great, but this just isn't something I'd usually do, Ginny."_

_"But you have to think about what you want too...unless there's a reason you're not telling me about that would make you want to stay?"_

_I rolled my eyes, "Like what?"_

_"Like maybe you love Draco?"_

_I opened my mouth to deny it, but then I paused to actually think about it._

_Did I love him like that?_

_"Oh god."_

_"I knew it! Are you going to tell him?"_

_"I don't know, Ginny. Maybe?"_

_"You should, because I bet you he feels the same way. It's obvious in the way he looks at you."_

Ha. How stupid I felt after _that_ conversation. He obviously didn't even care enough to let me explain what we'd been talking about.

I should've known Malfoy wasn't the type to be in a relationship.

Or maybe it was just me.

I hadn't exactly had the best track record with relationships, and it clearly wasn't getting any better.

"Are you sure you don't want to come out with us tonight? Maybe you could even talk to -"

"I don't want to, Gin. But thanks." I said, curling up on her couch.

Harry kissed my forehead and she gave me a hug before they left to go out.

I hadn't been out since before Malfoy broke up with me, and I didn't want to. I had other things to think about, like the job offer.

I had two days to give Micah my answer, and I was pretty sure I already knew what I was going to say.

Originally I was going to turn it down because of Malfoy, but since he wasn't a factor anymore, there wasn't really a reason for me not to take it.

It was an amazing opportunity, and I'd still be able to visit Harry and Ginny and everybody often enough.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair, and grabbed a tub of ice cream out of the freezer before sitting back down on the couch and pulling out my cell phone.

Before I could think about it too much I decided to call Ron. I'd been avoiding him since I got back from Paris, but I figured now was as good a time as any to try to clear the air.

He picked up on the second ring.

"Hermione?"

"Hey, Ron."

"Hey," he said softly, "I didn't think you were going to call me."

"I didn't think I was either." I said honestly, "But it's been too long since we've talked, and I miss my friend."

I heard his sigh of relief and he said, "I miss you too. I was an arse, and I shouldn't have said those things."

"What's done is done." I said simply, "Let's just move forward."

"Of course." he said, "Are you coming out tonight?"

"No, um, I'm staying at Ginny's."

He sighed, "I heard about you and Malfoy. I'm sorry. If it means anything, I know you wouldn't cheat on him. You've never cheated on anybody before."

"Then why'd you accuse me of it?"

"Because I was angry. I saw the chemistry between the two of you, and I was jealous that you didn't have that with me." he said.

_Oh_.

"Ron, you're a really good friend of mine, but -"

"That's all. I know that now, and I'm okay with it." he said, a smile in his voice.

I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest, and I said, "Well I'll let you go so that you guys can all go out, but we should get lunch some time."

He chuckled, "Definitely. And I'll see you at Ginny's wedding right?"

I smiled, "Of course. I can't believe it's three days from now."

He chuckled, "Only those two would decide to get married the day before Christmas."

I couldn't help but laugh and said, "You know how your sister is, always the dramatic one."

"Always," he said with a chuckle, "But I'm sure it'll be awesome."

I couldn't help but agree, and with promises to see each other soon, I hung up.

At least I felt better about _something._

* * *

**DPOV**

I didn't know why I'd let Blaise convince me to go out to the club with everyone, but I knew I'd regret it, and as soon as I saw Ginny's furious face as she walked towards me, I knew my assumption had been right.

"We need to talk. _Now."_ she said, yanking my arm and pulling me back outside.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she snapped, spinning around to face me.

"Excuse me?"

"Why did you break up with Hermione?"

I snorted, "You should know, you were on the phone with her."

She blinked at me a few times before she opened her mouth and began speaking slowly, as if I were stupid, which, judging by what she said, might have very well been the case.

"We were talking about the fucking _job offer_ you idiot! She was telling me that you deserved someone better because she felt guilty about wanting the job and leaving you! Which, by the way, she had decided _against_ anyway!"

"But -"

"But nothing, you arse! How could you think she had something going on with Micah? If you'd listened ten seconds longer - or let her fucking _explain herself_ you would have heard her admit that she_ loved you_!"

_What_?

That couldn't be right.

"She what?"

"She fucking loved you - _loves_ you, Draco. She would never, _ever_ cheat on anyone, let alone you."

"But I thought -"

"Yeah, you _thought._ And that's what hurt her the most. The fact that you thought she was really capable of something like that. So thanks to you she's been sitting at my house crying and eating ice cream from the carton because you were too idiotic to realize you had the perfect girl."

I groaned, feeling like the biggest idiot on the planet.

Granger fucking_ loved me_ and I'd accused her of cheating on me. I should have trusted her. I should have let her explain, like Blaise said, but of course I let my fucking temper get the better of me.

"I know she's perfect."

"Well then you better fix this, _immediately._ As in you two better be attending my wedding, _together,_ or there will be some _serious_ hell to pay." she said, arms crossed in front of her chest.

For someone so little, she did one hell of a good job getting her point across.

"Do you actually think she's going to forgive me?"

At that she smiled, "Depends."

"On?"

"Do you love her?"

I opened and closed my mouth, and her smile widened.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Tell her the truth, tell her you fucked up, tell her you're a gigantic arsehole - just fix it." she said, patting my arm before turning to head back inside.

I sighed and pulled out my cell phone, dialing her number.

She picked up right before her voicemail would've kicked on, so I already knew she'd debated not answering.

"Hello,"

"Hey," I said, all of a sudden nervous.

"Can I help you with something?"

"I just...wanted to talk."

"Didn't seem like you wanted to talk before." she snapped.

I sighed, "I was an arse. I'm sorry."

She snorted, "Is that supposed to fix it? You just say you're sorry and that's automatically just supposed to make everything okay? You accused me of cheating on you, you broke up with me - you wouldn't even let me _explain._ That's not what a boyfriend does, and that's definitely not what a _friend_ does."

"I know, but -"

"I don't really want to talk to you right now, Malfoy. It's late, and I'm tired."

Before I could say anything else she hung up.

I groaned sliding my phone back into my pocket and resisting the urge to rip my hair out. I mean what had I been thinking?

I may have just fucked up the one relationship that actually meant something to me, and on top of that Ginny was going to kill me because I doubted I'd be going to the wedding with Granger after this mess.

This was just fucking great.

And it was all my fault.

_Fucking fantastic._

* * *

**Alright, leave me a review and tell me what you thought. **

**The wedding - and a whole bunch of drama (so much that I might actually have to split it into two chapters) will be happening next, so stick around. (:**

**Review (:**


	14. Chapter 14

**One reviewer, I don't recall the name, said something about how me making Draco be the one to fuck it up was sexist. I don't agree, but let me explain why.**

**The characters I created, how they act, how they think, all made it more likely (to me) to have Draco be the one to misunderstand/fuck it up. Draco was already jealous of Micah, already thought he and Hermione had a thing - it was the logical thing for me to do.**

**With that said, enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

**HPOV**

This morning had been _completely insane_. Ginny, Molly and I had been running around trying to get Ginny dressed and to the church in time - which was no easy feat.

Especially when halfway through doing her makeup Ginny started to freak out. Molly told her she was just getting cold feet, but Ginny seemed to think it was a sign that she and Harry weren't supposed to get married.

Which led to a twenty minute discussion - twenty minutes that we _didn't have_, mind you - to convince her that she and Harry were, indeed, meant for each other.

When we finally made it to the church I was in the back with Ginny, helping her with the finishing touches on her dress, and she seemed to pick that moment to tell me what was on her mind.

"I think you should give Draco another chance."

I snorted, "Drop it, Gin. This is your day."

"And I want you to be able to have _your_ day, one day, and that's not going to happen if you act so bloody stubborn!" she said, crossing her arms like a petulant child.

"Ginny, he accused me of -"

"Yes, yes, I know. But honestly, did you have to bring Micah as your date? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"

I shrugged, "Micah said he wanted to come. You guys were friends too."

"I'm not the reason he's here, Mione. You are. And Draco's going to freak."

"Let him. He broke up with me, remember? I can do whatever I want and so can he." I said, even though the words stung.

"So if he started talking to Pansy again, that wouldn't bother you?" she asked.

I flipped the veil over her face and said, "Your dad should be here in a minute. You look absolutely beautiful, Ginny."

She smiled, obviously forgetting what she had been trying to get me to admit, and said, "Thank you, Mione. For helping with the wedding these past few months - for everything."

I nodded and when Arthur entered the room I slipped out, taking my spot with the two other bridesmaids.

The ceremony started, and everything was beautiful, _especially_ their vows.

"You make my life better in every possible way. You are the one person I can talk to about anything and everything. You were there when my parents died," said Harry, glancing at me for a moment.

Our parents had both been driving back from a weekend outing in Paris when their car had been hit by a semi truck. The car was on fire within seconds, and there was nothing anyone could've done. Ever since that moment we hadn't been as close as we were before, but something about the look he gave me led me to believe that maybe that was about to change.

"You were one of the few people in my life that truly cared about me, and I love you for it. You've truly made me better in every way."

Ginny's eyes were watering, but she managed to say, "You make me the happiest girl on the planet. You've shown me a side of myself that I never even knew existed, and you make me a better person. You make life seem easy, and every problem we face inconsequential, because as long as I have you, nothing else matters. You're my best friend, my soul mate, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

I smiled, and glanced around at the people who had gathered to celebrate with them, and my eyes spotted that head of blonde hair almost instantly - and found that he was already staring at me.

I turned away quickly, and wished that this nght would go smoothly.

**~OoOoOoOoOoO~**

"I'm really glad you decided to take the job." said Micah.

We were at the reception, drinks were going around, and a few people were already on the dance floor.

We had chosen a table and sat down, sipping wine and talking.

I nodded, "I think it'll be a good change. Something I need."

He nodded and looked at something behind me before saying, "I'll give you two a minute."

I looked behind me and saw Malfoy walking over, and I automatically blanched. I didn't want to talk to him. I didn't want to do this here, at Ginny and Harry's wedding.

By the time I'd processed this, Micah was already gone, and Malfoy was sitting in the seat he'd just vacated.

"We need to talk." he said softly.

"Why?"

"Because I fucked up. Because I want to fix this."

I looked up at him, and there was an expression in his eyes that I couldn't read - which didn't happen too often.

"You didn't seem to care when you broke up with me."

"Well you didn't seem to take long to run with it and invite Micah as your date." he snapped.

I glared at him and said, "You don't get to judge how I attempt to fix what _you_ broke."

His eyes widened and he asked, "What?"

I shook my head, not wanting to go over this now - or ever, "Nothing."

"I'm sorry...I know that I messed up. Just tell me what I need to do to fix it, and I'll do it." he said, his hand reaching out to cover mine.

I closed my eyes against the familiar feeling, but shook my head and pulled my hand away, "I'm not sure that you can."

"Please don't say that." he pleaded.

"You don't trust me, Malfoy. Do you know how _badly_ that hurts, knowing that your_ best fucking friend_ doesn't trust you?" I said, tears clouding my vision even though I was trying desperately to keep them in check.

"I do trust you...I just. I was jealous of Micah from the beginning." he admitted softly.

"What, _why_?"

"Because you guys had dated before. He knew you in a way that I didn't and -"

"You knew me better than anybody!" I snapped, my voice louder than I intended.

He ran a hand through his hair and said, "But that's different. I know you as my friend, my _best friend_, but he knew you as his girlfriend. He got to kiss you and touch you and dance with you - and I was jealous. I knew he was - _is_ - a better person than I am, and I was worried you'd figure that out too."

_Wow._

I never would've imagined Malfoy admitting something like this to me.

"Malfoy, I never -"

Before I could finish though, there was a loud commotion coming from the front of the room, and then even louder yelling from none other than Ron.

We both stood up and walked over, and the person I saw was definitely the very last person I ever thought I'd see at Ginny's wedding.

Fred Weasley.

* * *

**DPOV**

Everything was fucking insane.

Molly and Arthur were arguing, Weasley was yelling, Ginny was crying and clutching Fred - who looked terrified beyond belief - Harry was trying to calm down Weasley, and George was staring at his brother with a mix of contempt and sadness.

I glanced to my left and saw Granger, mouth wide open, staring at the scene in front of her - and even through all the craziness, I still couldn't believe how beautiful she looked. The dress suited her perfectly and I wanted nothing more than to be able to pull her to me and kiss her senseless - but until we finished our conversation, that wasn't happening.

And god only knows how long this mess would take to clear up.

I hadn't been expecting Fred - and clearly neither had anybody else.

The only person who seemed excited to see him was Ginny, who still hadn't relinquished her hold around Fred's neck.

Fred had been estranged from the Weasley family since we'd been juniors in high school. He had made the decision to run off with some girl, basically disowned his family, and left to like, New York or something, to pursue a fashion career - which judging by his clothes, seemed to be going fairly well.

From what Granger told me he hadn't talked to anyone in _years,_ so for him to show up all of a sudden was...strange, to say the least.

It looked like Ginny was trying to say something, but everyone was entirely too loud and talking over her.

Before I could say anything, Granger's voice echoed out around the reception hall.

"Everybody shut up! The bride has something to say."

Everyone was instantly quiet, and Ginny smoothed her hair back before saying, "I invited Fred."

"What the_ bloody hell_ were you thinking? He hasn't given us the time of day in -"

Ginny glared at Weasley and said, "I was _thinking_ that this was _my_ wedding, and I wanted my older brother here to celebrate."

"He hasn't been a brother to us since he left." said George, less hostility in his voice than Weasley's.

"Well he's here to try and -"

"Why don't you let the bastard explain why he's here?" snapped Weasley, his face crimson.

"I'm here because my little sister invited me." said Fred, seemingly unaffected by the fact that all eyes were on him.

"And you all of a sudden felt the need to make a _grand fucking entrance_ at her wedding? Why now? It's been years, Fred."

Fred glared at Weasley and said, "I came because she's getting married and I wanted to be here for it. I wanted the opportunity to talk to you guys, see how everyone was doing."

Weasley opened his mouth, but George cut him off, "You should have told us you were coming. Some of us might not have wanted to see you again, Fred."

His twin's eyes widened and he said, "George, you know that I never -"

"I don't know anything, Fred. I don't know _you."_

With that he turned on his heel and left the room, Molly scurrying off after him.

Arthur looked like he was saying something to Weasley, and slowly everyone started to return to their conversations.

I looked at Granger, but she was already walking towards Fred, so I followed.

"Hey," she said softly.

Fred smiled and said, "Well I'll be damned. You turned into quite the young woman."

Granger blushed and thanked him, before giving him a slightly awkward hug.

Ginny still stood nearby, her hand on his arm as if she were worried that he was going to bolt again. Hell, maybe he was.

"Malfoy, nice to see you again." he said, shaking my hand.

"Likewise."

"So what have you been doing all these years, Fred?" asked Granger, her eyes taking in his appearance.

He smirked, as if proud of himself and said, "I started my own clothing line in California."

Ah, California, not New York.

"Really? That's amazing." said Granger, her voice slightly in awe.

He nodded, "Ginny tells me you're thinking about taking a job in Paris at some big art gallery?"

"Yeah, um, I did take it, actually." she said, nervously glancing at me.

I took a deep breath - even though I wanted to yell - and simply smiled at her. She seemed to relax at the gesture, and I knew I'd done the right thing.

"Really? Well look at little Miss Granger, moving to Paris all by herself."

Her eyes widened at the thought, but she nodded anyway, "Yeah...Fred, how did you do it? I mean weren't you scared?"

He chuckled, "I was bloody terrified, but it was something I wanted."

"So how did you know you were doing the right thing?"

"Because I loved fashion, I loved design, and I couldn't picture myself doing anything else. Can you picture yourself doing anything else, Mione?"

She bit her lip and shook her head, her expression guilty - I would have to talk to her about that, if we ever got the fucking opportunity - and said, "No, no I can't."

"Then you're doing the right thing. And Micah's a friend right? Ex boyfriend or something? Maybe you'll even -"

"No," she interrupted softly, "We're just friends."

Fred shrugged and turned to me, "Word is you're taking over the company next month."

I nodded, "Yeah, end of January."

"Well I'm sure you'll do a good job. All Malfoy's seem to be inherently good at business." he said easily.

"Thanks." I said, thinking back to what Granger had told me in Paris.

"Well if you'll excuse us, Malfoy and I were in the middle of a discussion." said Granger.

Fred opened his mout,h as if to ask what about, but Ginny elbowed him and said, "Of course, go ahead."

I followed her back over to the table we'd been at, and for a while neither of us said anything.

"I'm sorry."

I looked up at her, eyebrow raised, and asked, "For what?"

"Taking the job."

"What? No, don't apologize for that. It's what you want." I said, forcing myself to sound positive.

In a way I _was_ happy for her, but I didn't want to lose her either.

"It's not the _only_ thing that I want though." she said softly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, not letting myself get my hopes up.

"Well -"

"Drakie!"

"Oh fuck me." I groaned, tilting my head to see Pansy walking towards us.

"Fuck _me."_ muttered Granger, her cheeks tinting pink when I smirked at her.

Micah had disappeared, only for Pansy to appear - and at that moment I halfway wished that Micah would come back, only to spare me from whatever the hell Pansy wanted.

On the upside, Granger wanted to talk and she possibly wanted me too...not that I was getting my hopes up or anything.

* * *

**Alright, there you have it, leave me reviews! I'll try to post part two of the wedding within the next few days...but you know how I am...**


	15. Chapter 15

**Part Two of the wedding, and it only got crazier...**

* * *

**HPOV**

Pansy had to have been the last person I wanted to deal with, especially when I was so close to getting somewhere with Malfoy.

I wanted him back, and I _knew_ he wanted me, so Pansy's interruption was annoying to say the least.

"I was hoping I'd find you here." said Pansy, resting her hand on Malfoy's shoulder.

"Hey Pans, when'd you get here?"

"Right in the middle of all that with Fred. I can't believe he actually showed up." she said, taking a seat next to him - _right_ next to him.

"Yeah, Pans, we were actually in the middle of a discussion." said Malfoy, looking over at me.

She narrowed her eyes and pouted, "But Drakie, you hardly ever talk to me anymore."

"Maybe you should take the hint." I said with a smirk.

"You stay out of this. Our relationship has nothing to do with you."

"What relationship? Maybe you guys would still be friends if you weren't constantly trying to get in his pants."

She glared at me and said, "Honey, I wasn't _trying_ to get into his pants, I've _been_ in his pants."

"Back in highschool, Pansy." said Malfoy with a sigh.

She acted like she didn't hear him and said, "I can assure you we've done things you two haven't even _thought_ about."

"I bet you have, but guess what Parkinson, he's been sleeping with me, he's been _dating_ me. You're old news."

She slammed her hands down on the table as she stood up and said, "We have a history. He was my boyfriend long before he was yours."

I smirked and stood up, placing my hands on the table and leaning forward just like she was, "And he was my best friend long before you were his girlfriend. So back off."

"Why should I? You two aren't even together. From what I heard he broke up with you because you're a _whore,_ just like your no good -"

"Don't you dare finish that thought, or I'll wipe the floor with you, just like I did back in highschool." I snapped.

How _dare_ she bring that bullshit up again.

"I wasn't scared of you when I said it back then, and I'm not scared to say it now. You're a no good whore just like your mother."

"Pansy that's _enough."_ snapped Malfoy, standing up.

"Why are you always taking her side? It's Hermione this, Hermione that,_ Hermione, Hermione, Hermione_! Well what about me, Draco?" yelled Pansy.

"What about you, Pansy?_ I love Hermione_, not you. That isn't changing, and you need to deal with it."

I was sure that they kept arguing, but I swear I didn't hear a word.

Draco said he loved me. _He loved me_.

I took two steps around the table, tugged his hand, and pulled him into a kiss, completely forgetting about Pansy - and apparently he did too, because he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tighter.

I pulled away slightly and said, "Say it again."

He smirked, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Malfoy -"

He shut me up with a kiss and whispered, "I love you." against my lips.

I broke out into a wide smile and kissed him again, tangling my hands in his fine, silky blonde hair.

All of a sudden I felt someone shove my shoulder, and I nearly avoided falling on my arse.

"What is your problem, Pansy?" I snapped, steadying myself as Malfoy wrapped his arm around my waist.

"You're just a phase, honey. I'm always going to be there for him."

I rolled my eyes, "I've always been there for him too, Pansy. And regardless of what happens to us as a couple, I will _always_ be there for him as a friend."

She snorted and said, "What makes you think he wants to have a whore as his girlfriend _or_ his friend?"

Malfoy opened his mouth to say something, but I put a hand on his chest and shook my head, my eyes still on Pansy.

"What makes you think that?"

"Because the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." she snapped, a snarky smirk on her face, "And I'm sure Draco would love to know about _that_ little family secret."

This was the exact reason we'd fought back in highschool. I don't know how she found out, but when she did she made sure to rub it in my face.

My mom had had an affair with a man who lived in Paris, and my dad found out when I was fifteen. They had told me about it because my dad had moved out for a while, and they knew I was too old for them to lie to me.

My dad moved back in six months later and they acted like nothing had happened. They picked up right where they had left off, but I couldn't let it go that easily.

While my dad had been away my mom had told me about the affair. She'd told me how she'd met Paul at a dental conference when I was fourteen. She said that they'd just hit it off and things had_ just happened_.

She said that she and my dad hadn't been the same. She said they'd started growing apart, and that the only reason they were still together was because of me.

So when my dad forgave her and came back, I couldn't get past what she'd told me. I couldn't accept the fact that they didn't love each other anymore.

That's why it took a while for me to realize that they seemed different - _better._ When I turned seventeen they told me that they'd fixed themselves, and that they were planning on renewing their vows at the end of the year.

They never got to do that because of the accident, but they'd fixed themselves. They'd fixed their relationship.

How Pansy even found out about my mom's affair, I had no idea, but being surrounded by rich people, image was _everything._ I admit, it was vain, but she'd called my mom a whore - after she'd already been dead - so I'd hit her, and it had turned into a fight.

I'd never told anybody, but I wasn't the same person I was back then. Just because my mom had cheated on my dad didn't mean I was like her, and it didn't mean that Malfoy would think I'd be like her either.

"You know what, Pansy? Go ahead and tell him."

She smirked and looked around - because obviously we'd attracted a crowd with her yelling - and said, "Hermione's dear, dear mother had an affair with a man from Paris for a year, and you know what they say. The apple never falls far from the tree, so I'd be careful with her, Drakie."

I glanced at Malfoy, and his eyes were wide, but he simply sighed and said, "Everyone makes mistakes. Just because...just because her mom did something doesn't mean she will."

"She's already doing it! You said it yourself that there's something going on between her and Micah!"

"As much as I wish that were true, it's not. Hermione and I haven't done anything since she and Draco started dating, and I respect that." said Micah, stepping out from the crowd of people watching this ridiculous spectacle.

Ginny was going to kill me.

Pansy opened her mouth, but Malfoy interrupted her.

"Pansy, _enough._ We're at a _wedding._ This isn't the time or the place to be doing this, and quite frankly I don't want to be doing it period."

"But Drakie -"

"Pansy Parkinson if you don't leave them alone right now I swear to god I'm going to kick your arse in my wedding dress." snapped Ginny, hand on her hip as she glared at Pansy.

Pansy's eyes widened, but she had the common sense not to say anything to Ginny, instead choosing the exit the reception hall all together.

Fine by me.

Everyone went back to what they were doing, and Malfoy pulled me into his arms again.

"I'm really sorry, about everything."

I sighed, hugging him back, and said, "Me too."

* * *

**DPOV**

I was well aware of the fact that we still had a few things to talk about, but I really couldn't be forced to care at the moment. I was holding Granger in my arms, I'd told her I loved her, and we were back together.

Everything else could wait until later.

"Well this was really unexpected." she said softly.

I chuckled and said, "But I can't deny that I like the end result."

She sighed and asked, "Even though I'm still leaving?"

"We'll figure it out."

"But -"

"Granger," I said, leaning back so I could look at her, "We'll figure it out."

"But long distance relationships -"

I leaned down and kissed her, silencing her doubts - and mine.

"Like I said, we'll think of something." I said, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

I kind of had a bit of an idea of what I was going to do, but I wasn't going to bring it up with her until I was sure it would work out - and for it to work out, I was going to have to talk to my dad.

But that was definitely a problem for another day.

"I love you." she said softly.

I couldn't help the ridiculous smile that spread across my face as I said, "I love you too."

We were quiet for a few minutes before I asked, "Come home with me?"

She looked at me and smiled, "Of course."

**~OoOoOoOoOoOoO~**

After not having had Granger living at the flat for a while, it was amazing to see her here again - but she didn't give me much time to admire the view, because her hands were pulling at my suit jacket.

"Someone seems eager." I said with a smirk.

She slid her hand down to my already hardening dick with a smirk and said, "It seems I'm not the only one."

My jacket dropped to the floor and my shirt and tie were quick to follow, along with Granger's shoes and purse.

"My bedroom." I murmured against her lips.

She simply nodded, her hands tangling in my hair to pull me back to her.

My hands were on her waist and I started backing her through the hall, pausing to kiss her neck when her back hit the door of my room.

"Malfoy," she moaned, arching into my touch when my hands slid to her breasts, massaging and pinching her nipples through the fabric of her dress.

I chuckled against her neck, gently biting her shoulder, before sliding the dress off her.

Her hands went to my belt while I trailed open mouthed kisses over the exposed skin of her breasts, and I pulled away when it hit the ground with a thud.

"_Today_, Malfoy." she said with a smirk, her hands pushing my pants down.

I smirked back and captured her lips in a kiss while reaching behind her to open the door.

We stumbled inside and I unclasped her bra, immediately nipping at one rosy bud while my hand massaged the other.

Granger moaned and slid her hand into my boxers, but I just wanted to be inside her.

I pushed her back onto my bed and moved between her legs, kissing her again.

"Malfoy, please." she said, grinding her hips against me.

I groaned and moved up onto my knees, pulling her underwear off before taking mine off as well.

I moved back on top of her and slid my fingers over her clit, causing her to buck into my hand and groan.

"Malfoy, would you just - _oh god_!"

I slid into her in one thrust and kissed her again, softly, before setting a steady pace, rubbing her in a way that had her moaning my name with every thrust.

It didn't take long for her to come, her nails scratching down my back as she did. I clenched my teeth to keep from coming, because I was nowhere near done with her.

It had been _entirely_ too long.

"Come here." I said, moving so that I was sitting down and she could climb onto my lap.

She did, her legs wrapping around my waist, as I slid into her again, and she gasped.

I chuckled, wrapping one arm around her lower waist and the other across her back, my hand between her shoulder blades.

"It's deep this way, isn't it?" I asked, my lips grazing her ear.

She moaned, her arms around my shoulders and her face against my neck, as I slowly moved in and out of her.

"Tell me."

"Oh god, _yes_." she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

I kissed her neck, sliding a hand down to where we were joined, and began rubbing her clit in soft circles.

She arched her back, pushing her chest against mine and throwing her head back, and I felt her walls start to flutter around me again.

Her nails dug into my shoulders and she moaned again, louder this time, and I felt her walls clench around my dick again.

I buried my face in her neck, forcing myself not to come, and waited for her breathing to slow a bit.

"How are you not tired yet?" she asked, her breath tickling my neck.

I chuckled and said, "I've wanted to be inside you for almost two weeks - I have no intention of stopping just yet."

She leaned back and smiled, her lips full and pink, and said, "Well I'm not complaining."

I smirked and moved her so she was on her hands and knees in front of me, and slid my hands up her back before moving to her arse.

She moaned, moving back against me, and I chuckled.

"Eager, Granger?"

"Not as eager as you." she said, and I didn't need to see her face to know she was smirking.

I slammed into her, and she cried out once, her hands clutching the blankets.

"Fuck," I groaned, leaning over her so that my chest was pressed against her back, one arm supporting my weight and the other moving to massage her breast.

She started moving her hips back, meeting my thrusts, and I knew I wasn't going to last too much longer.

I slid my hand to her waist and pulled her up so we were both kneeling, still thrusting into her, while sliding my hand down to her clit.

She moved her arms around my neck, her head falling back against my shoulder, while her breaths came in short pants.

"Let go." I said, pressing a kiss behind her ear.

"_Oh god_," she screamed, clenching around me for the third time - and this time I came too, groaning into her neck.

We both collapsed onto the bed, her on her stomach, and me on my side, an arm around her waist.

"If sex is like that every time we make up, we definitely need to fight more often." she said, turning her head to look at me with a smile.

"I couldn't agree more."

* * *

**Alright, there you have it. All's well that ends well...maybe. It all depends on if Draco's little plan works.**

**Any ideas on what he's got to talk to his dad about? Hmm, we'll see.**

**Review (:**


	16. Chapter 16

**Didn't anybody ever tell Draco not to play with his food? *sigh* boys these days.**

**Enjoy (:**

* * *

**DPOV**

I woke up to the smell of food - _amazingly_ smelling food.

I rubbed my eyes and sat up, noticing that Granger was nowhere to be found.

I groaned, shoving the covers from my legs and heading into the kitchen - and what I saw made me smile.

Granger had on an apron - covered in flour - delicious looking food set on different parts of the counter, and she was currently kneading dough, her hair piled in a messy bun on top of her head.

"Good morning." I murmured into her neck, wrapping my arms around her waist.

She chuckled and said, "Morning. Did I wake you?"

"I could think of worse things to wake up to than the smell of food...what is all this?"

"Christmas dinner, duh." she said, a smile on her face.

"And you did all this?"

"Of course." she said, wiping her hands on her apron and sliding the dough into the oven. "I always cook on Christmas, remember?"

"Well yeah, but never like this." I said, taking in all the food, my eyes landing on the four different pies and strawberry shortcake.

"Are you expecting somebody else, because this is entirely too much food just for the two of us."

She smiled, "Well Blaise, Theo, Ron, Harry, and Ginny said they'd come over later, but dinner will just be the two of us."

I pulled her forward, kissing her, before saying, "Good, I need to make up for lost time."

"Oh no you don't, not right now. You're going to make me burn something. Hands off." she said, swatting at my shoulders.

I chuckled, but did what she asked, stepping back to lean against the counter, content to just watch her - _for now._

She moved around the kitchen with purpose, sprinkling a little of this and a little of that on the dishes that stood around on the counter, and it made me forget about the less than pleasant conversation I had to have with my father tomorrow.

I was hoping that he'd take it as a serious business proposal, because otherwise I'd have to wait until the end of January - and god only knows how long it would take to implement what I had in mind.

I shook my head, shoving the thoughts from my mind. I didn't want to think about those things right now - right now I wanted to focus on my adorable girlfriend.

"How long have you been up?" I asked, looking at the clock.

It was half past eleven.

"A few hours." she said, waving a dismissive flour covered hand.

She brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead, leaving a white smear of flour.

I chuckled and said, "Granger, you've got a little something on your face."

Her eyes widened and she lifted her flour covered hand to her forehead again, but I grabbed her hand, tugging her towards me.

"I'll get it."

I gently wiped away the flour and then looked down at her.

"Merry Christmas, chéri."

Her eyes lit up and she smiled, "Merry Christmas."

I wrapped my arms around her waist and she slid hers around my neck before I leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss.

"You look fucking adorable like this." I whispered.

"Covered in flour?"

I chuckled and nodded, "And cooking in an apron in our kitchen."

I felt her laugh against my neck before she said, "Don't get any ideas, Malfoy. I'm not a housewife."

She tensed, as if realizing what she'd said, but for some reason it didn't bother me - not in the slightest.

"I'd never expect you to be." I said, "But I do expect that you'd continue cooking like this."

She laughed, her earlier awkwardness forgotten, and said, "Deal."

She slapped my shoulders and I let her go, allowing her to return to her cooking.

I chuckled and swatted her arse before leaving the kitchen to take a shower.

**~OoOoOoOoOoO~**

When I was finished getting dressed Granger was nowhere to be found, but the dinner table looked amazing. There was so much food I couldn't even name all of it - and the desserts, god I was glad she had a sweet tooth too.

I walked back to her room, knocking on the door before pushing it open.

She yelped, pulling her towel around herself before sticking her tongue out and saying, "What are you doing?"

I chuckled and walked over to her, sliding my hands into her hair and kissing her, before saying, "The food looks amazing."

"Well then let's eat."

She dropped the towel, quickly pulling on her bra and panties and then a dark red dress that hugged her curves in the most sinfully fuckable way.

God I was glad that nobody was coming over for a while.

She took my hand and pulled me out of her room, leading me into the dining room again.

"I hope you like it."

I smiled, "I will."

She rolled her eyes and sat down and I did the same.

"Why the sudden need to cook this big meal?" I asked, while she piled food onto my plate.

She simply shrugged, her eyes not meeting mine, and I sighed.

"Granger, seriously. What's going on?"

She artfully ignored my question and pointed her fork at my food, "Taste it. Tell me what you think."

I rolled my eyes, but did what she asked, tasting the ham - and holy fuck it was amazing.

She smiled at the expression on my face and said, "I take it that means I did it right."

"Right?" I asked, trying the baked macaroni.

She nodded softly, "Doesn't it taste familiar?"

I tasted another piece, and she was right, it did taste familiar, but I couldn't place where I'd had it before.

"It's how my mom used to make it, remember?"

As soon as she said it I remembered. I'd spent countless Christmases with her because my parents hadn't exactly been in the Christmas spirit - well my father hadn't been.

I was taken back to all the nights I'd spent sitting on Granger's couch watching Christmas movies and eating every kind of cake, pie, and cupcake Granger's mother happened to make.

"I miss those times."

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she nodded, "Me too."

"You know they'd be really proud of you, right?" I asked, venturing into dangerous territory.

We didn't really talk about her parents often - and I didn't blame her - but I felt like she needed to hear this.

She blinked a few times and shook her head, "Proud of what? I haven't done anything."

"Are you kidding? You put yourself through college, you have a good job - hell a great job now - you're going to Paris, plus," I said with a smirk, "You've got an amazing boyfriend."

She chuckled, her toffee eyes lighting up again, and said, "I think it's you who's got an amazing girlfriend."

"I can't argue with that." I said while I watched her red lips close over her fork as she ate.

It was unreal to me how erotic she seemed to make the simplest things - and the crazy part was that she didn't even know she was doing it.

Then again I suppose that was a good thing, because if she knew I'd no doubt be walking around with a hard on all the time.

"You really think they'd be proud of me?" she asked softly.

I met her eyes across the table and saw how unsure she looked, and I couldn't help but smile at how clueless she was. Her parents fucking _adored_ her. There was no doubt in my mind that they'd have been proud of her.

"Yeah, I really do." I said.

She smiled, and my breath caught in my throat. She had this way of catching me off guard, like I'd somehow forget just how beautiful she was, and then it'd just kind of sneak up on me.

"So when are Potter and Ginny leaving for their honeymoon?" I asked, watching as she took a sip of her wine, her lipstick leaving a mark on the glass.

"Ginny said they were leaving on the 28th."

"Any idea where they're going?"

She smiled, "He's taking her to Egypt, but she doesn't know it. Ginny's always wanted to see the pyramids - she's been talking about it since I've known her. She'll be so excited."

I knew Granger wanted to travel. We'd talked about it a few times, especially when I'd take business trips with my father.

"Where would you go?"

"For a honeymoon?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

I nodded, genuinely curious. Pansy always talked about going to Rome, my parents had gone to Paris and Scotland - I wanted to know where she'd want to go.

She bit her lip and furrowed her brow before she smiled, "An island."

"An island?"

She nodded, "Yes, an island. I think it'd be romantic. I mean the beaches, the atmosphere. It just seems really laid back and relaxed - the perfect spot for a honeymoon - or a vacation period, really."

I smirked, "I'd love to see you in a bathing suit."

A blush tinted her cheeks, but she ignored it and said, "You've seen me in a bathing suit before."

"True, but now I can do all kinds of wicked things to you."

Her cheeks flamed even brighter and she cleared her throat, "I don't know how you still manage to do that."

"I don't know, but I'm glad I can." I said honestly. I loved watching her skin flush, especially because I knew it was because of me.

She rolled her eyes and asked, "So what dessert do you want to try first?"

"What'd you make?" I asked, eyeing the counter while I cleared our plates and she started moving the desserts onto the table.

"Well there's apple pie, Devil's food cake, crème brûlée, tiramisu, chocolate mousse..."

"Jesus Christ, Granger," I said with a smirk, "How much did you think we'd eat?"

"Well everyone's coming over later, and you know much Ron likes sweets." she said with a shrug.

I looked over everything, and it looked amazing, but watching her bend over the table in that red dress had my appetite changing entirely.

Although that chocolate mousse had some potential.

"What time is everyone supposed to get here?"

She glanced at the clock on the wall and said, "Probably an hour or two, why?"

I smirked and tugged her towards my bedroom, picking up the bowl of mousse on the way.

* * *

**HPOV**

"Oh god,"

Malfoy's tongue trailed down my stomach, licking away the mousse that had been there, and I arched up trying to get closer to him. He'd spent the past ten minutes teasing my breasts, licking mousse from them - and I was panting and flushed.

"I do believe that this is my favorite dessert now, chéri." he said, swirling his tongue around my belly button before pushing my legs apart.

I groaned and felt his cool breath against the inside of my thigh, and I just wanted him right that very second.

Of course that wasn't his plan. I could tell as much from the arrogant smirk on his face.

"I love seeing you like this." he said softly, pressing a kiss to my thigh.

"Malfoy,"

"Shh," he said, trailing his lips closer to where I wanted him, before he flicked his tongue over my clit.

I groaned, lifting my hips from the bed, but his hands pushed me back down while his mouth attacked my clit, bringing me closer and closer to the edge.

All of a sudden he stopped abruptly, chuckling at my groan of frustration, and kissed his way up my stomach, pausing to flick his tongue over my nipples, before capturing my lips in a heated kiss.

"Malfoy, please."

He shifted so that he was halfway over me, his hand sliding down my stomach to my clit, while he kissed a scorching trail across my neck.

He slid first one, then two fingers into me before curving them up and pumping in and out at a languid pace.

One of my hands was tangled in the sheets, the other resting on his back, and just as I was about to come he stopped. Again.

"Malfoy," I snapped, rolling my eyes at his smirk.

"Did you want something, chéri?"

I tried to ignore how that word made my stomach clench, and said, "Yes, you. Inside me. Now."

"Well how could I say no to that?" he asked, removing his boxers before sliding between my legs.

I tangle my hands in his hair, tugging his face down to mine so that I could kiss him, my tongue sliding against his.

He shifted slightly and then slowly slid into me, groaning when he was seated to the hilt.

"Fuck, Granger." he groaned against my ear.

I couldn't even form words, just tightened my hands in his hair as he started to move, his pace slow but forceful.

On every thrust he managed to hit the perfect spot that had me gasping every time, and sooner than later had me calling out his name, my nails biting into his shoulders.

He trailed heated kisses down my neck and across my collar bones before murmuring, "I love you."

Those three words had stars exploding behind my eyes and had me clenching around him, and he followed shortly after.

He rolled off me, panting as he pulled me to his side in one fluid movement.

We were quiet for a moment before I said, "I love you too."

I could feel his smile, and I knew there wasn't really anywhere else I would've rather been.

**~OoOoOoOoOoOoO~**

"So have you talked to Micah yet? I mean when are you leaving?"

I chuckled as Ginny fired question after question at me, before saying, "Yeah, I've talked to him. I'm leaving here at the beginning of next month."

Her eyes widened and she looked at Harry, "What, so soon? What about you," she asked, looking at Malfoy, "Are you going with her?"

Malfoy shrugged, "I haven't really figured that out yet."

He must have noticed the nervous look on my face because he smiled softly, taking my hand before saying, "We'll figure it out though."

Ginny smiled broadly, "Well of course you will."

"Have you talked to your dad?" asked Blaise, his eyes on Malfoy.

He shook his head, "No, not yet. I'll probably stop by there tomorrow though."

"Talk about what?" I asked, looking between the two of them.

Blaise didn't say anything, instead opting to stuff his face like Ron was.

Malfoy just shrugged, "Nothing major, just some last minute things about the business."

I knew how excited Malfoy was about taking over the company - even though he was nervous about messing up.

That was part of the reason I felt bad about leaving to Paris. I mean I knew that he was trying to think of a way to go with me, but the only thing I could think of would be that he chose not to takeover the business - and there was_ no way in hell_ I was letting that happen.

I nodded, pressing a kiss to his cheek before he stood up and walked into the kitchen with Blaise.

I fell into easy conversation with Ron and Theo, while Harry and Ginny talked to each other softly.

I stood up and walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of champagne and overheard Blaise and Malfoy talking in relatively hushed tones, so I stopped right outside the archway, leaning back against the wall to listen.

"...worried. I trust her."

"Yeah, I trust her too, but what about him? Micah didn't exactly make it a secret that he had a thing for your girl."

"No, he didn't, but I don't think that's something he would do." said Malfoy.

I heard Blaise sigh, but he dropped it and instead asked, "So what's your brilliant plan for tomorrow with your dad?"

Malfoy sighed and said, "To be tactful."

"That's it?"

"Pretty much."

Blaise chuckled, and I heard him move toward where I was hiding, so I quickly backed up a few steps before walking into the kitchen.

"What are you guys in here talking about?" I asked, forcing a smile onto my face.

What did Malfoy need to be tactful about when he went to talk to his dad? He'd said it was about the business...

Malfoy chuckled, "Nothing, Blaise was just leaving."

He pulled me forward, pressing a kiss to my lips while Blaise mumbled something about taking a pie with him when he left.

Ginny and Harry left early so that they could make a few last minute preparations for their honeymoon, and Ginny promised to call me as soon as she found out where they were going.

Harry winked at me, before following Ginny out the door mouthing, "Not a word," at me.

Ron left with them, not that I blamed him. Sitting in the same room with Malfoy had to be uncomfortable.

I chuckled and spent the rest of the evening with Theo, Blaise, and Malfoy. And though they were fun to be around, I was glad when they all left and I could crawl into bed.

I wanted to think about what Malfoy could be meeting with his dad for, but I felt him slide into bed behind me, his arms wrapping around my waist, and all thoughts of what he'd be doing tomorrow slid from my mind.

I was content to end Christmas in the best way I knew how.

With my amazing boyfriend.

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**Okay, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about this chapter, but I felt really bad for keeping you guys waiting, so here this is - and no, of course it's not edited - they never are lol. I'll go back and fix stuff when it's not 1am.**

**Okay, thanks for reading, review :)**


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